CHICAGO — Buckle up, Chicago: It’s going to be a wild weather ride for the next week.
“What we’re about to endure over the next couple days can only be classified as the real March madness,” WGN-TV meteorologist Bill Snyder said.
Friday will have seasonable temperatures, but the area is under a wind warning.
“We could have wind gusts between 50 and 60 miles per hour,” Snyder said. “This is a classic ‘Alberta Clipper’ jet stream, so lock down anything that can fly away in the backyard. It’ll be down the block by the end of the day.”
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The winds subside Saturday, with normal temperatures and a few snow flurries expected.
Everything changes Sunday.
“We’re watching this situation very closely,” Snyder said. “At first we’ll be warm, with temperatures in the 50s with springlike showers and potential thunderstorms. Then temperatures will plummet, the rain will switch to heavy, wet snow, and by Monday morning we will have plowable snow across the area.”
Snow covered vehicles sit on the street during a snowstorm on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. Credit: Jim Vondruska for Block Club Chicago
How much snow will fall? That’s hard to predict with this type of storm, Snyder said.
“It’s always tricky when it starts as rain and then turns to snow,” he said. “But this looks to be a snowfall where you’ll need to shovel.”
Travel is likely to be impacted throughout Sunday and into Monday. Combined with blustery winds throughout the weekend, this could reduce visibility and cause snow accumulation on roads, said Mark Ratzer, National Weather Service meteorologist.
Though predictions are too far out to be certain on exact amounts and locations of snowfall, “It’s definitely something to keep an eye on,” Ratzer said.
After the Monday snow subsides, temperatures are going to drop.
“By Tuesday morning, temperatures are going to crash, with some parts of the Chicago area in the single digits and wind chills below zero,” Snyder said. “And if that isn’t enough weather whiplash for you, we bounce back to temperatures likely in the 60s by next Friday.”
Despite the up-and-down temperatures and getting severe spring storms and heavy snowfall just a few days apart, Snyder said it’s not all that unusual for this time of year.
“March has been known to do some finicky things in this part of the country,” he said. “The next few days prove that.”
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