Could we see our first snow next week?

October ends next week, but a touch of winter is coming to the suburbs.

It will be noticeably colder - daytime temperatures in the 40s and overnight lows in the 30s - and we possibly could see rain changing to snow early in the week, according to the National Weather Service.

While the forecast may bring a collective groan, meteorologist Kevin Birk said there's little chance of snow accumulation.

"It's not unusual for us to get snow in the Chicago area in late October or early November," Birk said Friday. "The threat overall is on the lower side (of rain changing to snow)."

Birk said Oct. 30 is the typical date in Chicago for the first traces of snow to be observed, and next week's forecast would be in line with that.

As for actual accumulation, Nov. 17 is the usual date for the first accumulation of a tenth of an inch or more, he said.

The record, Birk said, for the first traces of snow in the Chicago area was set on Sept. 25, 1942, and on the same day in 1948. The mark for the earliest measurable snowfall for the Chicago area was set Oct. 12, 2006, Birk said.

A more immediate concern is a storm system that could bring 1 to 2 inches of rain to the area Saturday and Saturday night, and residents should be on alert for localized flooding and rising river levels, Birk said.

"It is going to be noticeably colder next week," he said.

So, winter is ... coming, but cold first instead of snow.