Chicago faces snow, slippery travel hours after severe weather

The same storm bringing the risk of severe weather and even a couple of tornadoes to the vast Chicago metro area into Wednesday evening will rapidly push cold air into the region Wednesday night, setting the stage for what may be a slippery Thursday morning commute in some locations, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.

The center of a massive storm is forecast to track nearly right over the Chicago area--putting the region on the storm's warm side at first then the cold side later. In a matter of six hours or so Wednesday night, the weather will flip from that of warmth with severe thunderstorm activity to sharply colder with snow.

The greatest risk of severe weather, including the potential for a couple of tornadoes, will be near and south of Interstate 80/90 into Wednesday evening.

The storms will bring locally torrential downpours, strong wind gusts and significant hail to some neighborhoods during the afternoon and evening rush hour. A northeast breeze off the chilly waters of Lake Michigan may protect the Chicago lakefront and the northern suburbs from the violent thunderstorm activity.

Soon after the storm pushes to the east of the city Wednesday night, cold winds will increase from the north and rapidly usher in colder air. While the blizzard conditions occurring farther west over the central Plains are not likely to be pulled into Chicago, some of the snow and wind will succeed in moving in.

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The highest risk of snow covering roads with up to a few inches of accumulation in the metro area will be in the northern and western suburbs. Most roads downtown are likely to be wet as the snow falls. However, a heavy burst of snow around the city lasting an hour or two could leave some roads slushy and slippery even in the downtown area. The timing of that snowfall and slippery travel will coincide with the Thursday morning rush hour.

The storm's "double whammy" will lead to significant travel delays on the roads around Chicago and at one of the busiest flight hubs in the United States and the world-O'Hare International Airport. Airline passengers should expect flight delays and possible cancellations due to locally severe storms Wednesday evening then deicing operations and possible slippery runways Thursday morning.

Strong, gusty winds on Thursday will cause some of the snow to blow around for a time before strong March sunshine emerges and leads to natural melting in the afternoon. However, it will remain rather windy.