Getting More Active the Week of Thanksgiving

We've enjoyed some pretty nice and quiet weather for the first half of November.  High temperatures up until Saturday have been five, to at times, twenty degrees above average.  So the cold this past weekend came as quite a shock - even though this is more typical for November weather.  Factor in those strong northerly winds and it felt just down right cold.

The winds have calmed down, but the chill will stick around.  Overnight lows Sunday night will drop into the middle and upper teens under clear skies and light winds.  We should start off with plenty of sunshine Monday, but cloud cover will slowly trickle in from the west.  This will be ahead of our next storm system that will bring rain showers to Northern Illinois, but possibly a wintry mix further north in Wisconsin Tuesday and Tuesday night.

The changing seasons are going to try and battle it out this week as the jet stream pattern becomes a little more active.  While we won't see any significant cold snaps, there may be just enough of a dip in temperatures from time to time that would allow for moisture from the south to interact with the cold air to north to cause a mix of precipitation to occur over Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin with each passing low this week.  The first arrives Tuesday night into Wednesday.  We'll be very close to the freezing line ahead of a warm front Tuesday afternoon.  It looks like most of the precipitation should hold off until Tuesday evening as more moisture surges north ahead of the approaching low.  However, if precipitation does develop earlier Tuesday it's possible that it could start off as a very light mix before transitioning over to rain by Wednesday morning.

Another fast moving low develops to the southwest and tracks a little south of Rockford Thursday night (Thanksgiving night) into Friday morning.  With a slightly more southward track, there is a better chance for a wintry mix heading into Friday morning with temperatures hovering right around freezing.  Another low develops late in the weekend and this, too, could bring a mix of rain and snow for the Stateline.