Mild Weather Continues....

What a beautiful day!!! Sunday was near perfection with sunshine, blue skies, and mild temperatures for this time of year.  The high at the Rockford airport was 41 in the afternoon, and reached again at 10 pm.  The average high on December 18th is 32 degrees.  The high temperature on Monday should occur shortly after midnight, around 40 degrees. That mild air flow from the southwest will keep temperatures above freezing ovenight.  There will be and increase in clouds by late tonight in advance of a cold front that will pass across the Stateline around 6 am Monday morning.  The front will not produce any precipitation as it moves through. It will  be partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon on Monday with a northerly breeze, and temperatures in the 30's.  The high pressure following in behind the front  is Pacific in origin, so no really cold weather is expected.  A significant storm system will cross the southern Rockies, and move into the Texas panhandle by Monday evening.  Near blizzard conditions with heavy blowing snow will set up over the northern Texas panhandle, the panhandle of Oklahoma, southeastern Colorado, and southwesern Kansas.  That area could recieve a foot to a foot and a half of snow. The low will move from Oklahoma on Tuesday morning to southwestern Missouri by Tuesday evening and weaken.  There is a chance of some light snow across the Stateline on Tuesday morning, and possibly a light rain-snow mix during the afternoon.  There is a good chance of light rain and light snow on Tuesday night... that could linger into Wednesday morning.  Very little accumulation of snow is anticipated at this time for northern Illinois.... possibly a few tenths of an inch, but day time temperatures are expected to by in the middle to upper 30's, so whatever snow that falls should melt.  The low will move to western Indiana  by early Wednesday morning, and off the New England coast by Thursday morning.  It will be followed another cold front with high pressure of Pacific origin behind it again.  So, no frigid air from northern Canada will chill the Stateline during pre-Christmas week.  Highs will be in the 30's, and lows will be in the 20's from Thursday through Christmas Day.  Right now it looks like we will not have a white Christmas, but stay tuned.  If the system coming through Tuesday and Wednesday intensifies, and takes a path from Quincy to Kankankee...we could be in for some decent snow.