Revised Forecast!

Because of the widespread sleet earlier this evening, the snowfall forecast has been adjusted. I have been in contact with the National Weather Service all night and they concur: The sleet really will have an effect on the snow.

Here's how it works: Picture one grain of sleet. A graupel, as it's called, contains a lot more water than one single flake of snow. Because we had about an hour and a half of sleet, that gobbled up about 0.25 inches of available water. That would have added up to 2-3 inches of snow. So, now that we've switched over to snow, it'll end before we get to that anticipated 3-7 inches. It's looking more like a 2-4 inch event for Rockford (lesser amounts south along I-88). Areas that switched to snow earlier will still have a higher accumulation...like Janesville, Madison, and Milwaukee. Along Lake Michigan, north of Milwaukee, there will be some lake-enhancement so 6"+ seems reasonable there. -ERIC