As of early afternoon, clouds remain rather pesky over much of Lake and Cook counties. Elsewhere, more sunshine is breaking through the murkiness. Of interest is the declaration of an Air Pollution Action Day by the Illinois EPA today and tomorrow. The air is rather stagnant, and with an inversion (air gets warmer as you go higher) in place, pollutants can be trapped close to the ground. Tomorrow I expect the mercury to climb well above freezing area-wide. Those of you with little or snow on the ground could near 40, while readings elsewhere will move into the mid 30s. Then there's Friday. Two storm systems are approaching from the west... one coming out of the Rockies, the other will be moving toward the Gulf of Mexico. Eventually, the two will phase and create another headline-grabbing snowstorm for the Mid-Atlantic. For us, it looks like a much smaller event. Right now, I'm leaning toward a 2-4" snowfall, with areas south of Chicago in line for the highest amounts. This would occur on Friday, with some potential for another Illinois lake-effect burst on Saturday. A progressive step down in temperatures will follow the snowfall. It could get quite cold here by the middle of next week, especially if another "maybe" snowstorm hits Monday.
Mike
