Mix Of Rain, Sleet, Snow This Weekend
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago area will get a mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow over the weekend, although exactly what type of precipitation various areas will get is still unclear.
CBS 2 Meteorologist Megan Glaros reports a narrow band of precipitation could shift directions before it hits, changing where snow or rain will fall.
As of Friday morning, the best estimate was that heavy snow and sleet would fall in the far northern and far northwestern suburbs starting Saturday, and into Sunday. Those areas could get 6 to 12 inches of snow.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch until 6 p.m. Sunday for DeKalb, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties.
Most of the rest of the Chicago area is expected to see a mix of rain, sleet, and snow, with lesser accumulations – 3 to 6 inches of snow in the city and western suburbs, and 1 to 3 inches in the southern and southwestern suburbs.
Northwest Indiana could miss most of the rain and sleet, but likely will get heavy rains over the weekend, causing possible flooding. That has prompted an areal flood watch for Newton, Pulaski and Starke counties until 6 a.m. Sunday.
The National Weather Service warned unseasonably warm air and rain from the Southern Plains could bring widespread rain to the area, with upwards of an inch and a half of rainfall from Saturday through Sunday, with up to an additional inch of moisture from melting snow. Areas most likely to be impacted flooding will be along the Iroquois and Kankakee River basins, and their tributaries.
