For the hundreds of thousands of Chicago Public Schools students kicking off their spring break Friday, it’ll look more like a snow day.
The National Weather Service is forecasting rain and snow showers, occasionally mixed with the ice pellets known as graupel, into the afternoon and evening. Some slushy accumulation could occur on grassy surfaces.
If it feels like April’s been a bust so far, there’s data to back up that perception. According to the weather service, average temperatures have been a couple of degrees below normal, and if cloud cover hadn’t kept nighttime temps slightly warmer, that average would have been even lower. Chicago isn’t alone in the bumpy start to spring. Cooler than normal temperatures prevailed the first week of April across almost the entire Midwest, according to the Midwest Regional Climate Center.Scattered rain and snow showers are expected into this evening. The heaviest afternoon and evening showers may fall as all snow and produce sharp reductions in visibility and minor slushy accumulations on grassy surfaces for portions of northeast IL and northwest IN.