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Good Monday morning.
We are continuing to watch radar and model trends for today’s snowfall. The first wave of accumulating snow moved through last night and the second wave is centered over Illinois as of 3AM CST. The heaviest bands of snow are currently located east of Peoria and near Bloomington and it is moving east towards Champaign.
The hi-resolution NAM seems to have a good handle on this final wave. The brunt of the snow looks to pass through the area by mid-day, with residual snow showers in the northern third of Illinois.
You can see from the HRRR that the majority of the snow accumulation is occurring at this hour and into this morning. However, expect additional light accumulations from residual snow showers for Northern Illinois this afternoon and into the overnight hours.
At this time, our previous snowfall outlook remains the same and seems to be on track.
The initial wave of snow last night developed due to warm air advection from a southerly wind. However, this morning’s wave is related to an arctic front diving through the area. You can see winds will shift from the south to from the WNW over the next few hours. Sustained winds of 10-15 MPH are likely with gusts of 25-30 MPH. Keep in mind that this is a high-ratio, fluffy snow event and blowing snow is likely and will cause additional travel and visibility issues throughout the day.
After the front passes later this afternoon, skies will begin to clear, especially in western Illinois where residual snow showers and energy does not look to occur.
With clear skies overnight for Central Illinois and snow cover, temperatures will plummet. The European model is depicting near zero temperatures in many areas and is probably slightly underdone. Expect widespread temperatures below zero tomorrow morning especially in Central Illinois.
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us. Have a great Monday.