Chicago Weather: Winter Storm Warning In Place As Snow Begins Falling; 5 To 9 Inches Possible

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Snow began falling in the Chicago area on Saturday afternoon, and some areas could see up to 9 inches accumulation.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Cook, DuPage, and Lake counties in Illinois and Lake and Porter counties in Indiana until 6 a.m. Sunday; and in DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, McHenry, and Will counties through midnight Saturday night.

Heavy snow will increase in the late afternoon and early evening, especially for areas near the lake. Heavy areas of snow continue through the late evening and into parts of the overnight hours.

By Sunday morning, snow chances decrease dramatically. Some lake effect snow is possible in northwest Indiana, but expect a clearing sky for much of the area for Sunday afternoon.

Snowfall amounts will be between 4 and 6 inches, with isolated amounts of 8 to 9 inches. The highest totals are likely to occur near the lake in Lake County, Illinois, Cook County, eastern DuPage County, and Lake County, Indiana.

Wind gusts could also reach 40 mph, especially near the lake, making travel difficult.

The National Weather Service said the steadiest snowfall likely will come between 2 p.m. Saturday and midnight Saturday night.

Heading into work from the south suburbs Saturday afternoon, CBS 2's Shardaa Gray reported visibility was poor on Interstate 57 - amounting to what she estimated to be one mile.

While the snow winds down Sunday, temperatures in the teens are expected. Wind chills will be in the single digits and even below zero in some locations.

Sunday will feature a clearing sky and very cold temperatures. Highs on Sunday will be in the upper teens. Sunday night's low will be two degrees, with wind chills as cold as 10 below at times. Sunny and mid-20s for Monday.