The wintry month has arrived.

On December’s first day, forecasters call for heavy snowfall and cold temperatures, all after a streak of unseasonably warm weather throughout the region the past few weeks.

Meteorologists predict a 40 percent chance of snowfall in the morning while afternoon temperatures are expected to hold stable in the low 30s. A return to sunny skies and temperatures in the 40s is expected over the weekend.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Tim Halbach said drivers should be careful today, particularly in central and northern Illinois, where freezing rain and six to 10 inches of snow is possible.

“It looks like it’s going to get messy,” he said.

On Thursday, two wrecks occurred on Interstate 270 by St. Louis, sending at least two people to the hospital. Police linked icy conditions to the deaths of a woman near Topeka, Kan., and man in northeast Oklahoma.

In Carbondale on Thursday, rain drizzled steadily throughout the daytime and evening hours with temperatures hovering in the 30s and 40s. Carbondale Police said there were no accidents in the city Thursday.

Statewide, inclement weather caused several dozen flight cancellations at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and some central Illinois schools sent students home early.

Nearly 2,000 snow trucks were prepared to combat winter’s first storm, state officials reported.

The Associate Press contributed to this report.

Brandon Weisenberger can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 254 or [email protected].