Blustery cold front may bring first snow of season to Chicago area this weekend

A cold front is likely to bring the first snowfall of the 2025-26 winter season to the Chicago area as wind chills are expected to fall into the teens early next week.

Temperatures are expected to stay in the 50s and 60s for the rest of Friday and parts of Saturday before the cold front — which is expected to reach the Chicago area by Saturday evening — brings temperatures into the 30s for most of the area.

Rain moves in Saturday and may turn into a rain and snow mix. No significant snowfall is predicted, only about half an inch, according to the National Weather Service.

“It looks like any accumulation of snow we see Sunday morning [will] probably [be] just on grassy surfaces and maybe bridges and overpasses,” said Casey Sullivan, a meteorologist with the weather service. “Probably a 60%, 70% chance of snow there Sunday morning, but it doesn’t really look like it’s going to be too impactful.”

Sunday’s highs are expected to reach the mid-30s with winds blowing 15 to 25 miles per hour and gusts reaching 30 mph, according to the weather service.

“It’s going to be a cold, windy, blustery day on Sunday,” Sullivan, said.

Winds are expected to continue to hold at a similar pace and temperatures to fall to the mid-20s in the city heading into Monday morning, making it “the coldest day yet of this fall.”

“By the time everybody wakes up Monday morning, wind chills for the Chicago area will probably be like 10 to 15 degrees above zero,” Sullivan said.

The meteorologist said the cold blast and first potential for snow are not uncommon for this time of year.

“Sometimes it can happen as early as late October, so nothing really unusual about this system,” Sullivan said.