Here’s a timeline for snow, high winds, bitter cold heading for southwestern Illinois

A winter weather cocktail mix of snow, frigid temperatures and powerful winds appears to be headed straight for the metro-east Thursday.

In fact, the region is under a winter storm warning from 6 a.m. Thursday to midnight Thursday.

Brad Charboneau, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service of St. Louis, provided a timeline Wednesday of what and when residents can expect the severe weather — both for Thursday and Friday.

Q. When will the snow start?

A. Charboneau said snow will begin to fall around 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. Thursday.

Q. When will the snow be the heaviest?

A. Between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday, with some lingering light snow into the evening.

Q. When will the winds be the strongest?

A. Charboneau said peak speeds of 40-50 mph gusts will hit around 2-3 p.m. Thursday and will remain that way through Friday evening into Saturday morning, when they’ll still be at 30 mph. He said gusts likely will not decrease to the 10-15 mph range until Saturday afternoon.

Q. When will temperatures be the coldest and then show improvement?

A. Charboneau said wind chills will fall well below zero by Thursday night, with the coldest morning being Friday, with wind chills 25- to 30-degrees below zero. Saturday’s wind chills will only get to around 0 degrees or the low single digits, he projected. Charboneau expects temperatures to break a bit and reach the mid-20s on Christmas Day.

Q. When should people stay off the roads?

A. Charboneau recommended people avoid travel at all both Thursday and Friday, if possible.

Overall, Charboneau said the snow projections have not changed, with the metro-east expected to get 2-4 inches. However, he noted that relatively tame amount should not fool people.

“Those snow totals of 2-4 inches don’t look that high. But blowing snow combined with the cold make traveling very dangerous — especially if you get stranded,” he said. “We’re expecting the snow to be dry and blowing around pretty easily. It could easily cause some pretty significant travel impacts across the area.”

“I just want to stress that this event is more than just the snow amounts. 2-4 inches of snow doesn’t sound all that alarming by itself. But the other factors like the wind and the cold could cause some significant travel difficulties.”

Power outages

With no ice or freezing rain predicted, despite the high winds, Charboneau does not expect widespread power outages.

“For this particular event the wind speeds are not fast enough to do widespread damage,” he said. “We could see some power outages, but we’re not expecting the winds to be strong enough to cause widespread outages. And we’re not expecting ice or freezing rain, which could put pressure on the power lines.”

However, Charboneau added, “But any power outage when it’s this cold could be a big problem. It’s certainly possible we could see some power outages scattered throughout the area, and since it’s so cold, the impact could be greater.”

Don’t travel. If you have to, here’s some guidance

Furthermore, Charboneau again said if people do not have to travel, don’t, and to stay at home and inside.

For people who have to or elect to travel, Charboneau strongly urged having an emergency supply kit on hand. This includes blankets, jumper cables, a first aid kit, flares and sand or kitty litter to avoid slipping on potentially slick roads.

“One of the problems with temperatures that low, even if the roads have been treated, the chemicals don’t work as well,” he said, referring to the sand/kitty litter.

Additional safety tips

Charboneau also stressed having a full tank of gas and a fully charged cell phone. Still, as he noted, travel is strongly discouraged Thursday and Friday.

“You’ll want to play it on the safe side,” he said about traveling. “Road conditions will probably start to deteriorate around 9 a.m. Thursday. That’s the first chance for accumulating snow. Anything after that, expect a rapid process of things deteriorating after.

“Weather conditions both days could cause some significant travel problems.”

Additionally, Marshall Pfahler, also a meteorologist with the NWS, recommended turning faucets on to a drip to avoid pipes freezing.

“That’s probably not a bad idea since we’re talking about such a dramatic cool-down,” he said.

The National Weather Service recommends keeping plugged into the forecast as it develops, www.weather.gov.

This story was originally published December 21, 2022 at 12:07 PM.