A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 3 PM CST WEDNESDAY.

ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL DEVELOP AROUND THE INTERSTATE 80 CORRIDOR DURING THE EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON...SPREADING NORTH TO THE WISCONSIN STATE LINE BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SNOW MAY COME IN A COUPLE OF WAVES...WITH THE FIRST WAVE LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY THIS EVENING...FOLLOWED BY A SECOND WAVE OF INTENSE SNOW LATER THIS EVENING INTO THE OVERNIGHT. ACCUMULATING LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE OVER NORTHEAST ILLINOIS WEDNESDAY MORNING...SPREADING INTO NORTHWEST INDIANA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.

* ACCUMULATIONS...SNOW WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES WITH ACCUMULATION RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR LIKELY. STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 10 TO 18 INCHES IS LIKELY TOWARD ROCKFORD AND DIXON. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL TOTALS ARE LIKELY DOWNWIND OF LAKE MICHIGAN IN THE CHICAGO METROPOLITAN AREA INTO NORTHWEST INDIANA WHERE 12 TO 20 INCHES OF SNOW IS LIKELY...WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF AROUND 2 FEET POSSIBLE.

* WINDS...NORTHEAST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 35 MPH BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE BY EVENING WITH GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH LIKELY TONIGHT. EVEN STRONGER WINDS ARE LIKELY NEAR THE IMMEDIATE LAKESHORE WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS BETWEEN 50 AND 60 MPH.

* BLIZZARD CONDITIONS...THE STRONG WINDS ALONG WITH BLOWING AND OCCASIONALLY HEAVY FALLING SNOW WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO NEAR ZERO AT TIMES...PARTICULARLY TONIGHT.

* THUNDERSTORMS...ISOLATED SNOW PRODUCING THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TONIGHT...RESULTING IN LOCALLY VERY INTENSE SNOWFALL RATES. IT IS NOT UNCOMMON TO SEE SNOWFALL RATES IN EXCESS OF 4 INCHES PER HOUR IN THUNDERSNOW MAKING TRAVEL NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE.

* TRAVEL...ROAD CONDITIONS WILL RAPIDLY DETERIORATE DURING THE MID TO LATE AFTERNOON AS SNOW DEVELOPS FROM SOUTH TO NORTH ACROSS THE AREA. TRAVEL IS EXPECTED TO BECOME TREACHEROUS BY LATE AFTERNOON...AND DOWNRIGHT DANGEROUS BY EARLY EVENING AS WINDS INCREASE RESULTING IN WHITE OUT CONDITIONS. SNOWFALL RATES WILL BE SO INTENSE AT TIMES THAT ROAD CREWS WILL BE UNABLE TO KEEP EVEN PRIMARY ROADS AND HIGHWAYS CLEARED. UNNECESSARY TRAVEL SHOULD BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING AS MORE THAN HALF OF THE FATALITIES IN PREVIOUS ILLINOIS BLIZZARDS HAVE OCCURRED AS A RESULT OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS. BEFORE MAKING THE DECISION TO TRAVEL...CONSIDER IF GETTING TO YOUR DESTINATION IS WORTH PUTTING YOUR LIFE AT RISK.

* POWER OUTAGES...THE COMBINATION OF STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS ALONG WITH POSSIBLY HEAVY WET SNOW STICKING TO POWERLINES COULD RESULT IN POWER OUTAGES. DUE TO THE PROLONGED NATURE OF VERY ADVERSE CONDITIONS...PLAN ACCORDINGLY FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF A PROLONGED DISRUPTION IN COMMERCIAL POWER.

* OTHER IMPACTS...THE HEAVY NATURE OF THE SNOW WILL MAKE SHOVELING EXTREMELY DIFFICULT...AND POTENTIALLY DEADLY. DURING AND IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE BLIZZARD OF 1999 OVER 40 PEOPLE IN THE CHICAGO AREA ALONE LOST THEIR LIVES TO HEART ATTACKS WHILE SHOVELING THE HEAVY SNOWFALL. IF YOU MUST SHOVEL THE SNOW...TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS INDOORS AND DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE TASK AT HAND.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL! IF YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST TRAVEL...HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED...STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.