Spring break has come and gone for most city schools but, as longtime Chicagoans know, that doesn’t guarantee springlike weather in northern Illinois.
The snow and graupel mix expected to coat much of the area before 7 a.m. and again during the afternoon Monday is just the latest example of the area’s often erratic weather, according to forecasters with the National Weather Service. As light snow steadily fell in the early morning darkness, meteorologists even joked about the untimely winter weather in a social media post, saying: “While the calendar says April 18 Mother Nature evidently thinks it’s still February.”
Forecasters expected “patchy slush on elevated and less-traveled road surfaces” as a “mixture of drizzle and snow” developed in northern Illinois through midmorning. Some reports said as much as an inch of snow could fall in places.
The temperature is expected to remain at or above freezing most of the day, meteorologists said, despite the fact that the average high temperature for this time of year is nearly twice that.
Although the first round of weather should taper off by 7 a.m. or so, forecasters said more snow could fall in the afternoon, as could graupel, which is sometimes referred to as “soft hail.” Graupel can resemble gravel and it is generally like a small-diameter hail, although not as hard or compact.
That second round of winter weather should develop in the area after noon and in some areas, snow could stick on the ground for a short time, meteorologists said.
“While accumulations on roadways are not expected, some patchy coatings on grass will be possible (Monday). In addition, any stronger showers will result in brief but sharp visibility reductions and wind gusts to 45 mph,” according to the weather service.
A return to more typical spring temperatures is expected later in the week, meteorologists said. For more information on the forecast, visit the Tribune’s weather page and check back for updates.
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