Fall has returned to northern Illinois. Is winter far behind?

Rain has fallen fairly steadily in northern Illinois on Tuesday – but don’t be surprised if you hear a few rumbles thunder this afternoon.

Casey Sullivan, meteorologist at the National Weather Service Chicago, based in Romeoville, said the chance of thunderstorms was slight and more like “a couple rumbles of thunder” if storms did occur.

Otherwise, people should except rain off and on throughout the day and night, ending tomorrow morning between 6 to 9 a.m., Sullivan said. The highest temperatures will likely rise in the next seven days are the upper 50s, so “nothing too cold,” Sullivan said.

It appears autumn is here to stay.

“The ‘70s are definitely gone,” Sullivan said.

Should we be worried about snow yet?

Well, it’s not too early for snow. Chicago has already experienced its first snow of the 2022-2023 winter season.

The National Weather Service Chicago reported that snow fell on Oct. 17 on Facebook that snow was falling at Chicago O’Hare International Airport at 9:22 a.m.

Snow was also seen in Lake Villa later that morning in Rockford by 1 p.m., the National Weather Service Chicago said.

However, not enough “measurable” snow fell on Oct. 17, Ricky Castro, meteorologist said. Measurable snow typically doesn’t occur until November, but it can happen in October, and it did happen on Halloween 2019, Castro said.

Between Oct. 30 and Oct. 31, 2019, Chicago O’Hare International Airport had 4.6 inches of snow, Chicago Midway International Airport had 3.3 inches and Northern Will County had 2.1 inches, Castro said.

But you probably won’t need your snowshoes this Halloween. The forecast for Oct. 31 includes temperatures in the upper 50s and a low chance of precipitation.

“So that’s the good news for Halloween,” Castro said.

The Farmers’ Almanac is predicting plenty of “snow, rain and mush” in addition to dips in the mercury that might break some records.

Castro said northern Illinois typically sees 30 to 40 inches of precipitation during a meteorological winter, which is calculated from the first measurable snowfall of the season to the last. But it’s too early for more precise predictions, he said.

The National Weather Service Chicago said on Facebook that the Oct. 17 snow was the first “earliest first observed snow for the season” since Oct. 4, 2014.

The “earliest first observed snow” was on Sept. 25, 1928, and Sept. 25, 1942, the National Weather Service Chicago said.

And the “earliest first measurable snowfall” in Chicago – 0.3-inches – was on Oct. 12, 2006, the National Weather Service Chicago said.