March Heat Wave Continues....

The unseasonably, unprecedented late winter heat wave continued through Sunday afternoon. Another high temperature record was set at 81 degrees breaking the old record of 73 degrees set in 1945. That is the 5th consecutive record high temperature. The last four of those records have been above 80 degrees.  All of these records occurring during the last week of official winter. Prior to this heat wave there had never been a day warmer than 80 degrees during the winter season in Rockford.  Records in Rockford go back to 1906.


It will be a warm and somewhat humid evening... actually more like late May or early June, than mid March.  A disturbance over Oklahoma early this evening will more toward the Stateline overnight.  Clouds will increase after midnight, and there will be a slight chance of  showers and thunderstorms late tonight. The low will be around 60 degrees tonight when the average low for this time of year is much cooler... near 28 degrees.  The unseasonably warm weather will continue on Monday, but increased cloud cover associated with a disturbance moving toward the Stateline from the southwest may limit the temperature to the upper 70's in the afternoon.  If there is less cloudiness than anticipated, 80 degrees will once again be a possibility.  There is a chance of showers and thunderstorms on Monday and Monday night.  The pattern is all jammed up so that very slow eastward progression of cooler weather in the western states will allow for the unseasonably warm temperatures to continue on Tuesday with another 80 degree afternoon possible along with widely scattered showers and thunderstorms.  Clouds will increase, and scattered thunderstorms will again be a possibility on Wednesday.  With the cool front still to the west,  high temperatures will reach the middle 70's.  The entire system will be making it's move into area on Thursday.  It will be cloudy, rainy, and cooler with a high in the middle 60's.  On Friday it will be partly cloudy.   The system will have had most of its moisture wrung out by Friday, so only scattered showers will be possible.  With the system of to the east on Saturday, there will still be a chance of widely scattered instability showers because of cold unstable air aloft.  Lows will drop back to the 40's and highs will be in the low 60's.