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Staff report 5:21 a.m. CST, December 20, 2012
Up to three inches of snow could blanket the Chicago area tonight after a messy afternoon of rain showers and thunderstorms, ending a stretch of 290 days without snow.
The winter storm warning begins at 3 p.m. today and extends through 3 a.m. Friday, and winds of up to 60 miles per hour are expected into Friday morning.
"Those winds are going to be basically gusting as high as 50-60 miles per hour at times as we head into evning and overnight hours. We may not get a whole lot of snow but the potential for snowing, drifting and poor visiblity is very high," National Weather Service Meteorologist Mark Ratzer said.
The rain soaking the region this morning should continue into the afternoon, easing up a bit before beginning again and turning to snow between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the western suburbs.
The mix should turn completely to snow across the entire Chicago area by about 7 p.m., Ratzer said.
State police didn't report any abnormal traffic early Thursday morning relating to the rain and thunderstorms that began before midnight Wednesday evening.
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