Major Storm Builds Strength, Could Bring Ice To Illinois & Snow to WI

Just as the last of the snow starts to melt off our roofs and patios, there's another winter storm headed toward the midwest that's dumping feet of snow in the northwest and across the plains.

According to the latest projections from the National Weather Service, the "massive winter storm" could bring blizzard conditions to a large part of Wisconsin and a mix of snow and ice from Chicago to Rockford by Thursday.

When will Winter Storm Olive arrive in the midwest?

The timing for when Winter Storm Olive begins to impact the Chicago and Rockford area is always changing but the latest forecast from the NWS predicts that Tuesday night is when the wintry mix will begin in northern Illinois.

An icy mix of sleet is expected to continue Wednesday and into Thursday morning for Rockford while it will be more of a rainmaker around Chicagoland, according to the current forecast.

Feet of snow possible for parts of Wisconsin

Blizzard conditions are likely in some areas of Wisconsin with a Winter Weather Advisory in effect beginning Tuesday evening (2/21) for an area of the state north of the Wisconsin Dells.

Olive is being called a "historic" winter storm that could pile up more than a foot of snow by Thursday in Lacrosse, and up in Eau Claire, a Winter Storm Warning will be in effect through 6 pm Thursday evening (2/23) where they could get up to 24 inches of total accumulation by Friday.

Is another March snowmaker coming after Winter Storm Olive?

There's another weather maker that could bring significant snow accumulation to our area again, once Winter Storm Olive moves through.

Rockford's extended forecast has at least a 20 percent chance to snow every single day from March 1 to March 6, according to the Weather Channel.