Snow Predictions: What to Expect and When as Winter Storm Eyes Chicago Area This Week - NBC Chicago

With experts urging travelers to see alternate plans starring up to the Christmas vacation arsenic assurance successful a potential wintertime storm grows, however overmuch snowfall should you expect and erstwhile successful the Chicago area?

Forecasters accidental a large wintertime tempest is imaginable crossed a ample swath of the Midwest starting Thursday, but there's inactive rather a spot of uncertainty adjacent arsenic caller details look successful the lead-up to the event.

Here's a look astatine what we cognize truthful acold and what you tin expect:

Thursday Morning and Afternoon

According to the astir caller predictions, snowfall is expected to statesman Thursday morning, though it won't beryllium the astir intense.

Marking a alteration Tuesday morning, a wintertime tempest ticker was moved up for immoderate counties to arsenic aboriginal arsenic Thursday morning. Those counties include: McHenry, DeKalb, Kane, LaSalle, Kendall and Grundy.

Things volition "rapidly" worsen heading into Thursday afternoon, with snowfall increasing much wide and becoming stronger.

A wintertime tempest ticker for Lake, DuPage, Kankakee, Cook and Will counties successful Illinois, and Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties successful northwest Indiana, was besides moved up, present opening Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

According to forecasters, the timing of the strength was primitively later, but caller models amusement "slightly faster accomplishment of deteriorating conditions Thursday afternoon."

The alert warns that "falling and blowing snowfall whitethorn effect successful achromatic retired conditions with zero visibility astatine times, making question highly difficult, if not impossible."

"Power outages volition besides beryllium imaginable arsenic a effect of beardown damaging upwind gusts to 55 mph," it states.

Icy roads could adhd to the hazardous conditions arsenic temperatures rapidly fall.

Thursday Evening

The aggravated wintertime tempest is expected to beryllium wide astatine this point. This marks the clip erstwhile it could could make blizzard conditions and is expected to "severely" interaction travel.

Friday Morning

Major impacts are expected from the snowstorm passim the time Friday.

Expect dense snow, beardown and damaging winds, hard oregon near-impossible question conditions and dangerously acold temperatures and upwind chills.

Wind chill readings are expected to driblet adjacent -30 arsenic aboriginal arsenic Friday morning.

Friday Afternoon and Evening

The wintertime tempest ticker is slated to proceed done precocious Friday evening arsenic the tempest and perchance "blizzard-like" conditions clasp strong.

Forecasts are unclear arsenic to however overmuch snowfall whitethorn really autumn arsenic snowfall but the snowfall is expected to statesman subsiding overnight.

Early predictions truthful acold bespeak the Chicago country could spot betwixt 5 and 9 inches of snow, with higher totals possible, particularly successful northwest Indiana. Some locations could besides spot little totals.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Snow begins to lighten aboriginal Saturday morning, but hazardous question conditions are slated to proceed done the play arsenic unsafe acold continues.

Minimum upwind chills of -20 to -30 degrees are expected with highs successful the azygous digits and debased teens. Lake effect snowfall showers are besides imaginable successful parts of northwest Indiana, according to the NBC 5 Storm Team.

Difficult and intolerable question conditions could linger, peculiarly successful the greeting hours Saturday, arsenic blowing and drifting snowfall remains a concern.

What to Know if You're Flying this Week

According to the Chicago Department of Aviation, astir 2.9 cardinal travelers are expected to walk done O'Hare and Midway International Airports betwixt Dec. 21 and Jan. 2. However, formation delays and cancellations caused by the wintertime tempest could permission passengers stranded, and scrambling to find caller tickets.

"If you spell to the airdrome and the formation keeps getting delayed and past canceled, each those seats that were going to beryllium taken for a fewer days aboriginal are going to beryllium gone," said question influencer John DiScala, who runs the question website Johnny Jet

"I would beryllium proactive," DiScala said. "Get connected it now; prevention yourself a miserable experience. Stay warm. Stay location oregon successful your hotel, past travel."

As of Monday night, respective large carriers offered changes to definite itineraries for nary fee. Here's a breakdown:

• American Airlines: No alteration interest for scheduled flights betwixt Dec. 21 and Dec. 23
• Southwest Airlines: No alteration interest for scheduled flights betwixt Dec. 21 and Dec. 23
• United Airlines: No alteration interest for scheduled flights betwixt Dec 22 and Dec. 25

"If [airlines] are offering you a question waiver wherever they volition alteration your summons for free, nary charge, and enactment you connected a mates of days aboriginal aft the storm, get connected it present portion determination are inactive seats available, if determination are inactive seats available" DiScala said.

What to Know If You're Driving This Week

Driving whitethorn not supply overmuch relief, particularly arsenic canceled flights whitethorn enactment much motorists connected the road.

AAA expects 113 cardinal Americans -- 5.8 cardinal successful Illinois unsocial -- to question 50 miles oregon much betwixt Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, but with respective inches of snow, bone-chilling acold and precocious winds expected, roadways successful the Midwest could beryllium heavily-impacted.

According to the National Weather Service, Thursday evening done Friday is predicted to beryllium the worst time to deed the road, with imaginable blizzard conditions making question "difficult to impossible."

During the 11-day vacation period, AAA expects to rescue 899,000 stranded motorists. Make definite you person an exigency kit successful your car, including jumper cables, a first-aid kit, a portable telephone charger, an crystal scraper, other lukewarm apparel on with h2o and snacks, AAA recommends.

And portion the snowfall isn't expected to proceed each weekend, dangerously acold temperatures are expected to remain, acknowledgment to bitterly acold temperatures and adjacent little upwind chill readings. According to the NWS, acold temperatures could pb to crystal connected rivers, with an expanding menace of flooding caused by stream crystal jams.