CHICAGO (WLS) — A winter storm moved into the Chicago area Wednesday and it is forecast to dump several inches of snow.

ABC7 AccuWeather meteorologists said the storm could dump three to six inches of snow across our area, with isolated areas getting more than six inches near the Wisconsin border.

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A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for the entire Chicago area, including Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Will, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, LaSalle, Lake and McHenry counties in Illinois and Lake and Porter counties in Indiana from 9 a.m. Wednesday until 3 a.m. Thursday.

A Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 9 a.m. Wednesday until 3 a.m. Thursday for Racine and Kenosha counties in Wisconsin.

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Northern Indiana was also upgraded to a Winter Storm Watch until Thursday 7 a.m. for DeKalb, eastern St. Joseph, Elkhart, Lagrange, Marshal, Noble, northern Kosciusko, northern LaPorte, southern Kosciusko, southern LaPorte, Starke, Steuben, Western St. Joseph and Whitley.

Snow has become widespread, with visibility. ABC7 AccuWeather Meteorologists Tracy Butler said moderate to heavy snow will fall at times between noon and 5 p.m., causing disruption on the road.

Butler said light snow will linger between 5 p.m. until midnight. Poor driving conditions can be expected Wednesday afternoon.

Safety officials are reminding drivers to make room for emergency vehicles on the road and generally take it slow out there.

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Temperatures will stay in the 20s on Wednesday, and Thursday will see some bitterly cold temperatures move in, with wind chills from 5 to -5 degrees.

Friday will be quiet, but snow showers are expected to arrive later in the evening, and the ABC7 AccuWeather Team is watching a storm system for Saturday as well. That could bring more accumulating snow, ABC7 AccuWeather Meteorologist Larry Mowry said.

Snow in city of Chicago

Chicago dealt with the measurable snowfall Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s very different,” said Jose Antonio Urvan, a student from Mexico City. “We never get snow in Mexico City, so we never get this cold in Mexico City either.”

Winter weather began moving into the area Wednesday morning, promising to come to an end sometime in the evening.

“When we heard it was going to snow, oh my God, we were so happy,” said Craig Weldon, who is visiting Chicago.

The storm follows what forecasters said is one of Chicago’s warmest fall seasons on record.

Chicago’s Department of Streets and Sanitation has a fleet of more than 300 snow vehicles prepared to respond with 425,000 tons of salt – stationed at salt piles throughout the city.

Two hundred Illinois Tollway trucks were used to salt the roads and snowplows are ready to hit the streets for the winter storm.

While most loathe the weather, Craig and Terri Weldon are taking it all in stride.

“I think it’s fine. I think it’s lovely,” Terri Weldon said. “I love walking in the snow. It’s so romantic.”

Homeowners have been prepped for what’s to come.

“We got prepared,” Gino Bruno said. “We got some salt for the home for our house and checked our neighbors that are a little elder. We always check our neighbors to make sure they’re OK.”

It was a busy morning at the JC Licht Ace Hardware store in Bridgeport.

Snow blowers were front and center with of course plenty of extra snow shovels and brushes for vehicles.

“I gotta be looking for safety, since today’s going to be a hell of a day, you gotta be prepared for that,” Enrique Raymundo said.

Employees were re-stocking the shelves with plenty of ice melter with bags of salt piled up outside for customers to throw in their cars.

Snow in north suburbs

I-94 was closed in Lake County after a semi jackknifed, blocking left and center lanes according to Illinois State Police.

The crash happened at about 11:54 a.m. on the northbound lanes of I-94 near Russel Road. No injuries were reported. No other information was available.

Brian Spaid has been plowing the streets in Streamwood after snowfalls for 27 years, but this is the first substantial snow he’s had to deal with so far this year. They’ve got 50 vehicles dedicated to clearing the roads in town, and they are trying to stay on top of it.

“We just started plowing and salting and that’s what we’ll do the rest of the day,” Spaid said.

They’ll put in 12 hour shifts to get it done, but then they have had a bit of a break so far this year. The roads early in the day were pretty clear on the interstates. As the afternoon wore on, the snow increased, and the roads got quite a bit more slick.

“Looking a little treacherous,” said Adrian Marquez with Schaumburg field services. “It came down in the last couple hours. We’re doing our best to keep up with it. But it’s gonna be the better part of 12 hours for sure.”

For private snow removal contractors, the snow could not have come soon enough. Snow plow operator George Schlangen has been waiting on this since the last measurable snow in November.

“We’ve all been anxious,” Schlangen said. “It ain’t gonna snow in June. So we’re excited.”

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