With all this polar chill ready to pour in, why not bring a little snow? Well then, that might be the case as an Alberta clipper scheduled to arrive by Tuesday will not only enhance the cold air in place but carry with it a narrow band of snowfall.
Like all clippers they originate in Western Canada (Alberta) and quickly slide southeast across the Midwest, hence its name. Due to its speed, clippers are not noted in dumping a whole lot of snow. Already a couple of computer models has latched on this system.
The track of this clipper and temperatures its running into are both critical. If snow is to fall here locally then the track needs to be placed just south of the area. Also, there is plenty of cold air aloft but temperatures very close to the surface will be above freezing. However, there may be enough cooling toward the surface to allow these falling snowflakes to overcome that. If not, then the precipitation will be more of a mix rain and snow.
Snowfall is being depicted around the midday hours from near the Quad Cities to Galena where upwards of 1 to 4 inches is possible. The yellow shaded area indicates close to 4 inches, where the the two shades of purple represents 1 to 2 inches..
Now keep in mind, this is not 100% guaranteed that this will happen. I’m pretty sure this track will wobble before its actual arrival. So, stay tuned. Things could get pretty white in some spots by then.