A significant winter storm is set to hit northern Illinois this weekend, with the National Weather Service upgrading its alert to a Winter Storm Warning from 3 a.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Sunday. Forecasters say the region should prepare for 6 to 10 inches of snow, with locally higher totals possible northwest of a line from Ottawa to Aurora to Waukegan.

Snow is expected to begin developing in the early morning hours on Saturday, increasing in intensity shortly after sunrise. According to the National Weather Service, the storm will produce snowfall rates of up to 1 inch per hour, especially during the late morning and afternoon. That period, roughly noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, is highlighted as the window for the most hazardous travel.

In the more western portions of northern Illinois,

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