We are in the heart of the winter season, and this week does not disappoint with some dangerous cold arriving later in the week and weekend. Think of Monday's cold as the 'practice' for what is to come this weekend. But before we get into the cold let's talk about the snow that is set to arrive later in the evening Tuesday.
Rest of Monday evening/night:
After a sun-filled, but cold, Monday cloud cover can be seen moving in from the west and northwest this evening. This is tied to an upper-level disturbance that'll quickly slide across the Midwest and Great Lakes. It'll likely just bring the cloud cover with it this evening, but there have been a few flurries flying across the Upper Midwest. So, while it is very dry, I can't totally discount a flurry or two through the evening. I don't anticipate many (if any) impacts should we see those flurries other than reduced visibility down to a few miles. The cloud cover will keep temperatures from bottoming out initially, but we do start to clear by Tuesday morning which will likely allow us to drop below zero around sunrise. This will result in wind chills during the morning down around -10 to -15 degrees.
The day will start off quiet and dry with temperatures warming into the upper teens as winds turn to the southwest. Cloud cover will be on the increase during the afternoon and evening which when combined with an increasing southwest wind, will allow temperatures to hold steady if not rise a bit into Wednesday morning.
A fast-moving clipper system will move across the Midwest and into the Great Lakes Tuesday night. This will allow snow to develop ahead of the low Tuesday evening, overspreading much of the region during the overnight. The snow will mostly be light but with temperatures in the 20s we'll likely see it fluff up between 1-3 inches, with the highest occurring near the Wisconsin/Illinois state line.
Most of the snow will be wrapping up early Wednesday morning but there could still be a few flurries or light snow showers during the early morning commute. Slick and snow-covered roads will be likely Wednesday morning, so it may be a good idea to give yourself a little extra time on the morning commute. There will be a brief break where we could see some sun during the afternoon but a cold front moving in Wednesday evening will produce another round of snow, likely having an impact on the evening commute. From that, another 1-2 inches could fall. Temperatures on Wednesday will be at their 'warmest' this week, with highs reaching the mid and upper 20s.
A second cold front will sweep across the Midwest Thursday bringing with it another round of light flurries/snow, but with little accumulation. The bigger story will be the cold that will settle in Friday morning, lasting through the weekend. Temperatures on Thursday will remain in the teens for highs, with Rockford reaching a high of 16. A very strong Polar high-pressure system will move down from Canada and into the High Plains Thursday night/Friday morning causing temperatures to plummet. When you wake up Friday morning temperatures will be down around -10 degrees with wind chills as low as -30! Temperatures will struggle Friday afternoon, having a hard time even rising to zero! Right now, the forecast 'high' for Friday is -3 degrees.
High pressure will settle overhead Friday night, and this could end up being our coldest night depending on clearing, wind speed, and actual air temperature. The forecast low for Friday is -15 degrees. Saturday doesn't bring us much improvement with highs rising only to around zero degrees and then falling back to -11 Saturday night.
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