Chicago weather: Forecast calls for snow this week, with more than a foot of snowfall Thursday, Friday; Winter Storm Watch issued - WLS-TV

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CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago upwind forecast this week shows a important wintertime tempest that has the imaginable to dump upwards of a ft of snowfall earlier Christmas.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for the full Chicago country and northwest Indiana from 6 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Saturday.

ABC7 Meteorologist Tracy Butler says immoderate airy snowfall could statesman Thursday afternoon, with heaviest snowfall coming Thursday nighttime into the time connected Friday.

High winds and frigid temperatures volition besides pb to blizzard-like conditions Thursday nighttime into Friday morning.

Butler said the tempest could bring a imaginable of 6 to 12 inches of snowfall by the weekend, with higher amounts imaginable further eastbound from lake-effect snow.

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High winds successful excess of 55 mph are expected portion the heaviest snowfall is falling, ABC7 Meteorologist Larry Mowry said, adding that helium expects the Winter Storm Watch volition beryllium upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning oregon Blizzard Warning aboriginal successful the week.

"The interest volition beryllium not lone the snowfall that's coming down, but the blowing snow, which volition trim visibility," Mowry said. "And due to the fact that the winds volition beryllium this strong, determination is the menace of powerfulness outages Thursday nighttime done the time connected Friday."

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Mowry said the dense snowfall and precocious winds volition harvester to make large question impacts, with "extremely hard to intolerable question from Thursday nighttime done the time connected Friday."

Temps volition besides clang from the teens connected Friday to single-digits implicit the weekend, with the precocious winds creating dangerously acold conditions. Friday volition starts with upwind chills arsenic debased arsenic -20 and -30, and volition enactment good beneath zero done the day, Mowry said.

The forecast for this week has forced galore vacation travelers to scramble to alteration their plans. Most airlines presently person upwind waivers successful place, which means you tin alteration your flights for escaped if you person flexible question plans.

Stay tuned to ABC7 Eyewitness News and ABC7Chicago.com for the latest forecast and snowfall amounts arsenic the wintertime tempest approaches.