Snow squall strikes during morning commute, more storms possible later this week

A powerful snow squall materialized over the Chicago area during the Wednesday morning commute, quickly dropping one to two inches of snow throughout the region and bringing damaging wind gusts of more than 50 mph at times.

Meanwhile, meteorologists say there’s a chance for similar storms later in the week.

“These snow squalls can be tricky because they’re kind of like a summer storm and become really powerful fast,” said Brett Borchardt, a senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Romeoville bureau. “The timing was not ideal with the morning rush hour.”

Officials began issuing snow squall warnings for the southern suburbs around 8 a.m.

Forecasters issued warnings late Tuesday about a weather system developing that could affect Wednesday’s commute.

“The strength of it certainly was the upper echelon of snow squalls we see in the area,” Borchardt said.

Within a span of less than three hours, the storm had officially produced 1.2 inches of snow at O’Hare International Airport, the region’s official weather recording station. However, more than two inches were recorded in parts of northern Chicago and 1.6 inches at the weather agency’s Romeoville office, Borchardt said.

Weather stations throughout the suburbs recorded gusts in excess of 50 mph during the storm, including a 56 mph reading in Sugar Grove. Property damage reports were limited to downed trees and power lines.

Borchardt said the potential for another snow squall could come as early as Friday. It’s part of polar vortex returning to the U.S. after a brief thaw we saw earlier this month, meteorologists said.

Highs are only expected in the upper teens this weekend for much of the area with more snow expected with the frigid temperatures.