Up to 6 inches of snow could fall Monday over Chicago

Snow started falling across Chicago late Sunday. | Network Video Productions

UPDATES WITH DETAILS, SNOW PLOWS DEPLOYED

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory starting Monday morning, with up to 6 inches of snow expected across the Chicago area.

Snow could begin falling just after midnight Sunday and continue through Monday evening, the weather service forecasted. Between 3 and 6 inches of snow were expected in Lake, DuPage and Cook counties. Visibility will be reduced during periods of heavy snowfall and could make for difficult driving conditions.

“The intensity of the snow will vary from time to time until tomorrow morning,” said Gino Izzi, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “It seems pretty likely we’ll be experiencing snow during rush hour, so I would plan on a longer than usual commute.”

Izzi said this will be the first time Chicago has recorded at least one inch of snow since Dec. 17, 2016, marking the city’s longest streak without snow ever recorded during the winter.

Lake effect snow could then develop Monday evening and continue overnight into Tuesday, adding to snowfall accumulations, the weather service said. Lake effect snow could continue periodically throughout Tuesday.

Temperatures were expected to reach a high of about 30 degrees on Monday, the weather service said. The chance of snow was about 100 percent on Monday, with wind gusts as high as 20 mph. A high near 27 degrees was expected Tuesday, with an 80 percent chance of snow.

The winter weather advisory will be in effect from 1 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, followed by a lake effect snow watch into Tuesday afternoon.

The city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation announced it will deploy 287 snow plows overnight to tackle the snowy weather. the plows will focus on salting and plowing arterial routes to ensure the roads are safe before moving to neighborhood streets if necessary.

As of 11:35 p.m. Sunday, 46 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport and 12 were canceled at Midway International Airport, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

While Chicago braced for its first snowfall in months, larger snowstorms were expected on the East Coast. A blizzard watch was issued for the Boston area, with 12 to 18 inches of snow expected to fall over eastern Massachusetts as well as central and southern Rhode Island, according to the weather service.