Jan 17th-18th Winter Storm To Bring Accumulating Snow/Sleet/Ice To Illinois (Update #4)

We are now about 48 hours away from this system beginning to impact portions of Illinois with a potpourri of accumulating snow, sleet, and freezing rain (ice). Not much has changed regarding our thinking but a brief update follows below...

Our system continues to inch closer as its still out over the Pacific Ocean but will be coming ashore California tomorrow morning and afternoon. Beyond that, the track still remains pretty much unchanged, crossing the Rockies and coming out into the plains. 

Widespread wintry precipitation is still expected to develop across the central plains late Thursday night and then move northeast into portions of the Midwest Friday morning and afternoon. This loop runs from 6pm Thursday till 6pm Friday. Snow will be the dominant precipitation type on the north and northeast side as you can see below but in between, freezing rain and potentially some sleet will be falling. Those across far northern Illinois will remain snow the longest and will see the highest snowfall totals. As you drop further south, less snow and more mixed precipitation will be the norm. 

Warm air advection will eventually win out across most areas, changing any snow or mixed precipitation over to rain by early Saturday morning. Depending on the exact track of the low pressure system, cold air could return by Saturday afternoon, changing over any leftover moisture to snow across the northern portion of the state. 

Our expected snow and ice totals remain unchanged from this morning but changes could be coming as we draw closer to be sure to stay tuned for continued updates. 

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