High pressure helped bring sunshine to the region on Tuesday. A strong pressure gradient generated windy conditions with wind gusts at speeds up to 29 mph at Midway and 28 mph at O’Hare. Tuesday’s northeast winds will continue through much of the remainder of the week, helping to keep temperatures on the cool side, especially near the lake.

Two potential snow systems are in the forecast with the more significant of the two likely arriving Thursday night and continuing into early Friday. While too early to predict the amount of potential snow accumulation, temperatures will likely be a little colder than last week’s system. The colder temperatures may mean a greater likelihood of accumulating snow over a larger area of northeast Illinois than last week. A wintry mix is also possible, especially south of the city. A winter storm watch has been issued for portions of southern Minnesota and northern Iowa for Thursday and Thursday night.

The second system, while still several days out, appears to be more likely to produce scattered snow showers or flurries and less likely to produce accumulating snow than the Thursday night-Friday system.