Winter storm bears down on Chicago area with “intense” snow expected Sunday

Chicago is under a winter storm watch as a lake-effect snow system is set to bring the first snow since March to the region Sunday evening.

There’s a small chance that slushy accumulation of 1 to 2 inches could hit Saturday night, while “intense bands” of snow are expected Sunday night into Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

The NWS has predicted 7 to 15 inches of snow for the Chicago area through Tuesday evening. But meteorologist Gino Izzi said it was too early to say definitively how much snow the Chicago area could see because of the nature of lake-effect snow.

“It could be that Lincoln Park is getting an inch and Logan Square is getting a foot,” Izzi said.

The snow system will also bring much colder temperatures to the region. Saturday night is expected to see rain mixing with snow, with a low temperature of 28 degrees.

On Sunday, the daytime temperature will hover around the mid-30s when the Bears face off against the Giants, while the snow in the evening will send wind chills into the teens.

The snow Sunday night could create “significant travel impacts” in areas around Lake Michigan, the NWS said.

For air travelers, this could add to the mass cancellation of flights at O’Hare and Midway airports due to the Federal Aviation Administration’s airspace restrictions. Airlines are expected to cut 4% of their flights this weekend and up to 10% next week.

Ninety-four flights at O’Hare and 17 at Midway have been canceled for Sunday, with another 83 cancellations scheduled for Monday across the two airports, according to flight tracking app FlightAware. It’s unclear if the cancellations stem from the airspace restrictions or the approaching storm.