Update 1:15 p.m.: Evanston officials say we can expect a significant amount of snow mixed with rain on Friday.
The city’s private forecast service is predicting we’ll get from 1 to 2.3 inches of snow on roadways and between 2.25 and 4.5 inches on elevated and grassy surfaces, mostly between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Friday
The storm is expected to start with a mix of snow rain around 6 a.m. and then turn mostly to snow and continue to around 10 p.m.
Warmer temperatures, which are expected to remain above freezing, will aid in melting on the pavement.
Warmer weather the rest of the weekend is expected to eliminate most of the snow accumulation
Public Services Bureau Chief Noel Rodriguez says a full complement of staff and equipment is prepared to respond to the storm, but streets will be slush-covered during the heaviest snowfall in the afternoon, so drivers will need to take additional precautions.
Original story 6:30 a.m., Thursday: The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for Friday morning through Friday evening with a chance of as much as five to eight inches of heavy wet snow.
The weather service says there’s still a lot of uncertainty about which areas in our region will get the snow — and which will just see heavy rain — because of temperatures that are expected to be above freezing in much of the region.
There’s also a chance of wind gusts as high as 45 miles per hour — and that, combined with the heavy, wet nature of the snow creates the potential for scattered power outages.