Northern Illinois has been placed under a Cold Weather Advisory each of the last four days. Now that we are turning the page on this Arctic blast, no such advisory is in place this Friday morning.
Still, we can expect both air temperatures and wind chills values will end up below zero this morning, only by a few degrees. High pressure to our south will bring a steady dose of sunshine. That, along with a southwesterly wind will allow
temperatures to soar into the mid 20s. Though an improvement from Thursday, it’s still well
below normal for this time of year. The same high pressure system will keep our skies quiet overnight, with temperatures falling back into the single-digits.
Saturday features a few more clouds, though some sunshine is promised. Similar to today, that, along with a more organized southwesterly wind will further allow our
temperatures to climb closer to average. Most locales should wind up near or at the 30° mark by Saturday afternoon.
More Pacific air is scheduled to arrive Sunday into Monday, allowing this warm up to continue. Despite considerable cloud cover, afternoon highs will peak in the upper 30s Sunday, then in the low 40s for Monday and Tuesday afternoon. With the warm up comes a slightly more active weather patter, giving us small chances for precipitation each day.
The snowpack from last week still holds strong, but we may begin to see some melting next week with a milder pattern on the horizon. This comes with a few more weather systems along an active Northwest flow. This will funnel a series of "clippers" our direction starting Monday. Nearly every day will feature at least a slim chance for a mix of rain and snow, but weather systems will be short-lived and fast moving each time. The first main chance will arrive Monday evening into Tuesday.
This will come with a milder pattern, as highs could push the 40s as early as Monday. We will finally see a return to above average temperatures for the first time in almost 2 weeks! Average highs for this time of year are the mid-30s.
The near to above average pattern may continue into the last few days of February. The 6-10 day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center slightly favors the Stateline to see above average temperatures between February 26th and March 2nd. The western half of the country more heavily favors above average temperatures, with the northwest active flow likely continuing around here in some form into early March. Average temperatures will be near 40° for highs and low 20s for lows by March 1st.
Skies remained mostly sunny Thursday afternoon as temperatures have begun their slow rise out of the deep-freeze. Under sun-filled skies, afternoon highs warmed into the upper teens and low 20s. While still below the average high of 35 degrees, it's a step in the right direction.
High pressure will continue to move down the Plains Thursday evening, shifting into Missouri Friday morning. Light winds and mostly clear skies Thursday night will allow overnight temperatures to dip back below zero, with wind chills falling around -10 in some locations Friday morning. Winds will then shift to the southwest Friday which will bring temperatures into the mid and upper 20s. Still below average but continuing to warm heading into the weekend.
Cloud cover and moisture will slowly be on the increase through the weekend as a warmer air mass moves into the Midwest. This will allow afternoon temperatures Saturday to rise into the upper 20s, close to 30 degrees, with Sunday's high warming into the upper 30s. By Sunday afternoon, though, we'll likely see more cloud cover than clear sky which could lead to some areas of fog Sunday night into Monday.
Same story, different day. It's just the Cold Weather Advisory isn't as expansive. The advisory includes Stephenson, Jo Daviess,
Carroll, and Whiteside Counties and runs until 10AM.
In those spots, wind chill values could fall between -15°
and -20°. Values over the
remainder of the region will still drop between -10° and -15°. Under a mostly clear sky, "out the door" temperatures will fall a few degrees below the 0° mark.
Lots of sunshine can be expected to start the day, though clouds will begin to gather up from midday on. This will put a lid on our ability to warm, landing afternoon highs just short of the 20° mark. It’s still well-below where we should be this time of year, but another step in the
right direction. Cloud cover will slowly clear Thursday night, allowing temperatures to briefly dip below zero once again.
We will continue to slowly thaw out of this Arctic blast as winds turn to the southwest. This will leave afternoon chills in the single digits Friday, the teens Saturday, and then twenties for Sunday. High temperature-wise, we'll remain in the teens to round out the work week, but see temperatures climb into the 20s and 30s over the weekend. Each day does have a small chance for precipitation, with the highest chance arriving Monday with a cold front.
Temperatures briefly reached the double digits (above zero!) this afternoon despite the thicker cloud cover in place amid a weak passing weather system. This has tried to spit out a few flurries on satellite and radar, but anything that falls will bring limited impacts.
Cloud cover will be gradually thinning out through the night, especially across Northwestern Illinois. Where clouds clear out more or entirely, temperatures will likely drop a bit further. Many will see temperatures drop near or just below freezing with wind chills approaching -10° to -20°.
Where clouds thin out more and temperatures drop further, wind chills could even briefly dip near -20°. There is another Cold Weather Advisory issued for Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Carroll, and Whiteside Counties that will run from 9PM tonight through 9AM tomorrow.
Temperatures will again rebound into the upper teens with a partly to mostly cloudy sky Thursday, with similar overnight lows down near zero again. Following that, we see a gradual climb in temperatures heading into the weekend, with highs reaching the 20s Saturday and 30s Sunday. Overnight lows will also be climbing, even above many recent highs!
Next week will continue the milder pattern, with a return of some 40s to the forecast as soon as Monday. But that also comes with an active Northwest flow aloft. This will give us more frequent precipitation chances with periodic waves passing by within the active flow. The first of which could arrive Sunday night with a rain/snow mix possible. The exact timing of each precipitation chance is up in the air, but we could see near daily rain and snow chances starting early next week.
The Stateline has been under not one, not two, but three Cold Weather Advisories this week. Like the previous two, this one contains the entire viewing area and runs until 10AM. Wind chills could be as low as -20° this morning, only warming only to -5 to -10 degrees during the afternoon.
Clouds will remain in place for most, if not all of our Wednesday. That,
combined with a chilly northwest wind will keep afternoon highs in the lower teens. Forecast models then show a wave sliding in late in the day, which may have enough "umph" with it for intermittent flurries this evening into the first half of tonight. Any accumulations would remain minor, but with the recent cold, it won't take much for snow to stick to surfaces, resulting in slick spots.
Clouds will slowly depart Wednesday night which will allow lows to dip back down below zero. Similar to this morning, wind chill values by Thursday morning could be as
low as -20°. The last of this Arctic blast will be felt Friday as an area of high pressure slides to our southeast. This will help switch our winds to the southwest, allowing warmer times to filter in for the weekend. Afternoon highs will peak in the teens Friday, 20s and 30s over the weekend, and then low 40s by early next week.
A Cold Weather Advisory will go back into effect for all of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin beginning at Midnight, lasting through 10am Wednesday. Wind chills are forecast to fall back around -20 degrees early Wednesday, warming only to -5 to -10 degrees during the afternoon.
The sun-filled skies Tuesday didn't do much to warm our temperatures as highs for the second day in a row struggled to make it out of the single digits. Rockford's high once again reached 8 degrees. Wind chills through the afternoon remained below zero, staying close to -10 degrees in some locations. Cloud cover has slowly been on the increase as another winter storm passes us to the south. This will bring accumulating snow from the central Plains out through the East Coast. Closer to home, mostly cloudy skies will take us into Wednesday.
There may be a few snow flurries or light snow showers Wednesday afternoon and evening as an upper-level disturbance passes through the western Great Lakes. Any accumulations would remain rather minor, but with the cold even a light snow flurry would stick to surfaces. Highs on Wednesday will warm to 10 degrees.
Cloud cover will slowly depart Wednesday night which will bring overnight lows back down below zero with wind chills Thursday morning as low as -20. By Thursday afternoon wind chills will rise briefly above zero, only to fall back below zero Thursday night. Southerly winds will bring temperatures into the 20s Saturday and then above freezing (32 degrees) Sunday.
