Forecasters: winter storm to bring snow & cold for New Year

Story updated Saturday at 10:10 p.m. – this story will be updated as the National Weather Service issues new forecasts.

CHAMPAIGN – Meteorologists are forecasting snow and much colder air in Central Illinois this weekend. According to Twitter posts from the National Weather Service in Central Illinois, a winter storm will impact the state on Saturday.


“Snow is favored north of the Illinois River Valley with rain favored south of I-70. In between, expect a wintry mix that will transition to snow,” said the post.

Meteorologists expect Champaign, Macon, and Vermilion counties to be on the edge of snowfall amounts of 2-inches or less.

After the snow, forecasters are predicting much colder air. The low in Champaign on Sunday night/Monday morning is predicted to be 8 degrees with a wind chill of -2.

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Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on six NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsIPM