Freezing rain continues across portions of the region north of a line from Remington...Indiana to Kankakee...to Mendota...and south of the Interstate 88 corridor. At :00pm...up to 2 tenths of an inch of ice accumulation had been reported across the region. With temperatures expected to remain at the freezing mark for the next several hours...additional ice accumulation...in excess of one quarter inch is likely. Much of the ice accumulation will be on power lines...trees and untreated or less traveled roads. Bridges and overpasses may also be particularly dangerous. Travelers should exercise caution.
Forecast for Cook
Updated: 4:53 PM CST on December 23, 2009
Winter Weather Advisory in effect until noon CST Thursday...
Flood Watch in effect from Thursday afternoon through late Thursday night...
Rest of Tonight
Freezing rain and sleet. No sleet accumulation. Ice accumulation of less than one quarter of an inch. Blustery. Temperatures nearly steady in the lower 30s. East winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph at times. Chance of precipitation 100 percent.
Thursday
Windy...rain...freezing rain and sleet in the morning...then rain in the afternoon. No sleet accumulation. Ice accumulation of less than one quarter of an inch. Highs in the upper 30s. East winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 35 mph at times. Chance of precipitation 90 percent.
Windy. Rain in the evening...then rain likely after midnight. Locally heavy rainfall possible in the evening. Temperatures nearly steady in the upper 30s. Southeast winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph at times. Chance of precipitation 100 percent.
Christmas Day
Windy...cloudy. Chance of light rain and light snow in the morning...then a chance of light snow in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 30s. Then temperatures falling into the lower 30s by evening. Southeast winds 20 to 30 mph in the morning becoming south and decreasing to 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Gusts up to 35 mph. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.
Friday Night
Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of light snow. Lows in the mid 20s. South winds 10 to 20 mph.
Saturday
Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of light snow. Highs in the upper 20s.
... Flood Watch remains in effect from Thursday afternoon through late Thursday night...
The Flood Watch continues for
* portions of Illinois and Indiana... including the following areas... in Illinois... Boone... Cook... De Kalb... dupage... Ford... Grundy... Iroquois... Kane... Kankakee... Kendall... La Salle... lake IL... Lee... Livingston... McHenry... Ogle... will and Winnebago. In Indiana... Benton... Jasper... Lake in... Newton and Porter.
* From Thursday afternoon through late Thursday night.
* Rain is expected to become moderate to occasionally heavy Thursday afternoon and night. Total rainfall amounts of 1.5 to 2 inches will be common... .with the potential for local 3 inch rainfall totals by Friday morning.
* Current snow cover ranges from 4 to 8 inches across northwest Illinois to 1 to 3 inches across Northwest Indiana. As the snow melts and moderate to occasional heavy rain develops rapid runoff due to frozen ground conditions will result in significant rises on area rivers... with some rivers possibly reaching or exceeding flood stage. Flooding of low lying and flood prone areas will also be possible.
Precautionary/preparedness actions...
A Flood Watch means there is a potential for flooding based on current forecasts.
You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible flood warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.
Record Report
Statement as of 12:36 am CST on December 23, 2009
... Record daily maximum snowfall set at Rockford IL...
A record snowfall of 3.4 inches was set at Rockford IL yesterday... Tuesday December 22nd 2009. This breaks the old record of 3.3 inches set in 1969.
Local Storm Report
12/23/2009 0715 PM
Homewood, Cook County.
Freezing rain e0.28 inch, reported by trained spotter.
1/8 to 3/16 of an inch accumulation.
12/23/2009 0650 PM
Cicero, Cook County.
Freezing rain e0.00 inch, reported by co-op observer.
Light to moderate freezing rain. Glazing is increasing on buildings, fences, and trees.
12/23/2009 0400 PM
Ohare Airport, Cook County.
Snow m0.9 inch, reported by official NWS obs.
0.9 snowfall.
12/23/2009 0400 PM
Ohare Airport, Cook County.
Snow e0.9 inch, reported by official NWS obs.
From 2 PM to 4 PM.
12/23/2009 0325 PM
1 miles SW of Streamwood, Cook County.
Snow e1.0 inch, reported by trained spotter.
A period of heavy snow has moved through producing one inch of snow in one hour. Precip is now back to ice pellets.
12/22/2009 0500 PM
Northbrook, Cook County.
Snow m2.2 inch, reported by trained spotter.
Storm total snowfall.
12/22/2009 0500 PM
Northbrook, Cook County.
Snow m2.2 inch, reported by trained spotter.
Snow depth 3 inches. Storm total.
12/22/2009 0320 PM
3 miles SW of midway airpor, Cook County.
Heavy snow m3.0 inch, reported by co-op observer.
3.0 inches since 920 PM. Water equivalent 0.20
12/22/2009 1258 PM
Berwyn, Cook County.
Snow m2.6 inch, reported by trained spotter.
Liquid eqv of 0.19 inches.
12/22/2009 1150 am
3 miles SW of midway airpor, Cook County.
Snow m2.5 inch, reported by co-op observer.
Storm total.
12/22/2009 1200 PM
Ohare Airport, Cook County.
Snow m2.4 inch, reported by official NWS obs.
Storm total. 1.2 inches in last 6 hours.
12/22/2009 0800 am
Northbrook, Cook County.
Snow m1.8 inch, reported by trained spotter.
Storm total.
12/22/2009 0552 am
Ohare Airport, Cook County.
Snow m1.2 inch, reported by official NWS obs.
Storm total 1.2 inches.
12/22/2009 0800 am
Northbrook, Cook County.
Snow m1.8 inch, reported by trained spotter.
Storm total.
12/22/2009 0552 am
Ohare Airport, Cook County.
Snow m1.2 inch, reported by official NWS obs.
Storm total 1.2 inches.
Public Information Statement
Statement as of 8:50 PM CST on December 23, 2009
... NOAA Weather Radio kwo39 off the air...
Most locations in the Chicago Metro region are not receiving the NOAA Weather Radio broadcast from station kwo39 at a frequency of 162.550 mhz. Due to ice build up on the antenna... atop Willis tower... from which the weather radio transmits... its signal is being reflected back to itself. Thus the transmitter has cut back on power to keep from overloading. The situation will resolve itself once the temperature moves above the freezing level and the ice melts.