Might as well embrace it

GFS is pretty much the only model not bringing any snow to Chicago. It will be interesting to see how much the lake temps dip over the next few days. I wouldn't be surprised to see some ice start to build up near the shore with this incoming arctic blast, but that would only be in close proximity to the shore as water temps are still running near 40 degrees a little farther out in the lake. Inversion heights also look fairly limited but despite that and a likely drop in lake temps in the next few days, there will certainly be lake enhancement in this setup given the magnitude of the cold airmass.

Best forecast I've seen for Missouri.

Yeah honestly I think it's an overrated climate. The snow is always super sloppy and doesn't really pile up that much given the huge totals they get. Hokkaido is way better -- less snow and shorter mountains but much colder. But you can get a traditional style apartment in Yuzawa for like $30k lol... just need to figure out how to live on tatami mats (GL with that) https://suumo.jp/ms/chuko/niigata/sc_minamiuonumagun/nc_77843645/ edit: a lot of places in Japan also have things like heated sidewalks, heated streets, and so forth. It's easy to roll into a place like downtown Sapporo and wonder where all the snow is.

Depends what you mean by hit. Heaviest swath? No. Accumulating snow? Likely.