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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Up to 6 inches of lake effect snow possible starting Friday afternoon

Updated: February 9, 2012 5:56PM



Miss winter?

As many as six inches of snow could dump on Chicago and Northwest Indiana starting Friday, potentially turning the evening rush into a nightmare.

A lake effect snow watch will be in effect from Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon for Cook and Will counties in Illinois, and for Porter and Lake counties in Indiana, the National Weather Service said.

The front is expected to develop early Friday afternoon and continue through Friday night and into Saturday morning before shifting east. The initial snow showers should begin along the Illinois shore but will then shift more into Lake and Porter counties from Friday night into Saturday.

The weather service says while lake effect snow can be highly localized, more than six inches of snow are possible from Chicago heading southeast into Indiana.

And with the snow will come some bitter wind chills. The high for Friday will reach 32 degrees but will dip to a chilly 17 degrees at night.

A lake effect snow watch means there is a potential for a large amount of snow in only a few hours. Visibilities and depth can vary, and may impact travel significantly, the weather service warns.

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