Let the warm up begin

First, I want to start with the forecast for this weekend.  A weak clipper system moving through the Midwest late this morning has been spreading light snow across central/north-central Iowa northward through Minnesota.  That system will move east through the remainder of the afternoon and likely bring light snow to the Stateline this evening and overnight.  Accumulations will range from 1" to 2" inches.  Winds will pick up tonight from the west and continue into Saturday and Sunday.  Another weak clipper system will move through Wisconsin overnight Saturday and could bring a few flurries early Sunday.  Temperatures Saturday will be near 30° and temperatures Sunday will be in the middle 20s.

A warm front will lift north late Sunday and early into Monday.  Clouds will likely move in with the threat for a wintry mix along and ahead of the warm front early Monday morning north and northwest of Rockford.  Once the front passes temperatures will warm into the upper 30s and even lower 40s!  This is largely due to the fact that there really won't be much snow cover on the ground to keep our atmosphere cool.  So the southerly wind should be able to warm us nicely.

Now, not only are our daily temperatures expected to warm next week but the average highs have already started to go up.  The average high January 22nd was 29° and on the 23rd it rose to 30°.  The average will remain 30° through the rest of January before rising to 31° the first of February.  Average highs will continue to rise through July before slowly falling in August.