First major winter storm could bring 10 inches of snow across Chicago overnight

Light snow began falling in the Chicago area Sunday night, with heavier snowfall forecast overnight into Monday morning.

The National Weather Service said the “intense lake effect” snow will likely start falling before midnight near Lake Michigan and spread inland. Roughly 8 to 10 inches of snow could fall by Monday morning, impacting commuters. A winter storm warning has been issued for Cook County through noon Monday.

The weather service warns it could snow up to 3 inches an hour. “Frequent” thunder and lightning are also forecast. Overall, the weather service predicted 7 to 15 inches of snow for the Chicago area through Tuesday evening.

The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation activated more than 250 salt spreaders to combat effects of the storm, focusing on DuSable Lake Shore Drive and other main roads that may be impacted by lake effect snow.

Meteorologists urge people to avoid driving and to use caution on the roads as rapid accumulations of snow could make it difficult to keep roads clear, resulting in dangerous to nearly impossible travel conditions.

The snow band could be 10 miles wide, with varying levels of snow depending on location.

The weather could further impact air travel Monday and add to the mass cancellation of flights at O’Hare and Midway airports due to the Federal Aviation Administration’s airspace restrictions. As of Sunday night, prior to the snow moving in, O’Hare had 362 cancellations with an average delay of about an hour, and Midway had 25 cancellations and an average of a 44-minute delay.