Now maybe a foot of snow in suburbs?!?
The first significant wintry storm of the season began making its way across the suburbs Friday night, and the National Weather Service increased its forecast to a foot of snow or more in the Northwest suburbs and Lake County.
Iowa and northern Illinois were bracing for some of the largest snow totals in the storm hitting the Midwest and Upper Plains states. The Illinois Department of Transportation reported Friday night that snow and ice was covering some roads in the northwestern part of the state, including parts of U.S. Highway 20.
The early mix of rain and snow became snow quickly Friday night. Originally the forecast called for the worst snow to hit in the overnight hours.
Some on social media reported an inch or more already falling in their suburbs by 8:30 p.m. Friday, including one person saying 3 inches fell in Barrington.
Preliminary forecasts had 4 to 8 inches falling throughout much of the suburbs and possibly 2 to 4 inches for downtown Chicago. The National Weather Service increased its forecast after 10 p.m. Friday.
The snowfall is “right on track” for the season, said Richard Otto, lead forecaster at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Weather Prediction Center. But don't look for it to be the picturesque light, fluffy snow that often occurs in the dead of winter, he said - much of it will be wet and heavy.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Intense #snow band already produced 6-10+" near/N of I-90! We bumped forecast snow totals to locally 12"+. #ilwx pic.twitter.com/ZShaKxHvrJ</p>— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) November 21, 2015
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A winter storm warning officially is in effect until 3 p.m. Saturday, meaning there's a potential for snow that may hinder travel. Snow could be heavy at times and create low visibility and some treacherous roads, especially in the overnight hours.
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The weather service also issued a winter storm watch for northern Indiana, saying snow accumulations of 4 to 7 inches are possible. The Indiana Toll Road in the northern part of the state is banning triple-trailer trucks from 7 a.m. Saturday to 1 a.m. Sunday because of dangerous conditions.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">@CherylScottWX a good 3" already in Barrington pic.twitter.com/cU6bRU6e3m</p>— Tyler VDV (@TCVoort) November 21, 2015
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The Illinois Department of Transportation said earlier Friday it pre-treated roads ahead of the storm. It posts a road-condition map on its website.
The last measurable snowfall that happened in the area was .6 inches on March 27, which followed 5.6 inches March 23. The last time it snowed more than 6 inches in November was on Nov. 26, 1975, when 7.5 inches accumulated.
Be careful out there. Doctors say some activities like snow shoveling, walking through heavy wet snow or in a snow drift, downhill and cross country skiing, snow-boarding, can strain the heart enough to cause a heart attack.
* The Associated Press contributed to this report.