Forecast: Frigid conditions with snow ahead

CHICAGO — Valentine’s Day will be cloudy and breezy across Chicagoland, with temperatures expected to max out in the upper 20s, up from the below zero wind chills that blanketed the area earlier in the morning.

Expect cloud cover to increase this afternoon as a low pressure system moves in ahead of additional accumulating snow. Updated forecast models show the snow reaching the western suburbs at about 5 p.m. and the city at about 6 p.m.

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Current conditions

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Looking ahead

Frigid, late season arctic air is predicted to take up residence across the eastern two thirds of the United States next week.

Low temperatures across the Chicago area are likely to drop below zero Monday morning, Tuesday morning and perhaps Wednesday morning, and not far from zero Thursday morning.

In the February 18 through 22 period, temperatures on average will be as much as 30-degrees below normal across the nation’s heartland.