Freeze Watches in the Plains, Frosty mid-week for us

The first of two fronts passed through early this morning and will keep a gusty northwest wind coming in throughout the day.  Temperatures upstream in Iowa and Minnesota are currently in the 50s so with the cooler air being brought into the Great Lakes, look for highs to reach about 70°.

The second front will move through Wednesday morning and this will be the one that really drops our temperatures; not only afternoon highs but overnight lows.  As the second front comes through tomorrow, there may be enough moisture to squeeze out a sprinkle or light shower but there will be a lot of dry air coming in behind.  So once that front passes Wednesday afternoon skies should begin to clear.  A large area of high pressure, which has originated from northern Canada, will then settle into the Midwest.  While locations very close to the center of the high will likely see temperatures drop by Thursday morning into the middle 30s, I think there is going to be enough of a breeze to keep us close to 40° - especially around the Rockford area.  Now some of the outlying locations could be a few degrees cooler.  By Thursday night, the center of the high will have moved almost directly overhead and that should allow our winds to calm and keep skies generally clear.  That combination would allow temperatures to drop into the middle/upper 30s by Friday morning.  Because both Wednesday night and Thursday night have the potential for lows in the 30s, I'm going to keep the patchy frost mention in the forecast.  On average we see our first frost during the first week of October.  So if this were to occur we would definitely be above schedule!