A Cold Weekend to Start off March

The storm that spun up killer tornadoes in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Alabama on Friday, and a sloppy wet snow of 2" to 4" across the Stateline has departed, kicked into high gear, and is located over central Quebec in eastern Canada this evening.  A re-enforcing cold front/trough of low pressure is dropping southward across Wisconsin this evening.  It will remain cloudy ovenight with a chance of some snow showers and flurries after midnight.  The overnight low will be in the low to middle 20's with a west/northwest wind from  6 to 14 mph.  It will remain cloudy to mostly cloudy and cold on Sunday with a chance of snow showers.  The afternoon high will only be in the low 30's along with a northwest wind betrween 5 and 10 mph.  The average temperature for March 4th is 40 degrees.  A new Alberta Clipper system will pass to the west of the Stateline on Sunday.  Right now it looks as if it will be far enough west not to produce any system snows across north central Illinois.  However, it will produce accumulating snows across Iowa, to our west, but if the track changes, and moves a little further to the east, it could graze parts of north cental Illinois will some fresh snow. That low pressure area will move from near St. Louis at supper time on Sunday to Virginia by daybreak Monday morning with weak Canadian high pressure following in behind the departing system making for a mostly sunny, but relatively cool day with a high around 37 degrees.  The Canadian high will shift to Kentucky by evening as a pattern shift takes place.  A strong pressure gradient will develop between the high and a strong low over Montana.  A surface warm front will develop from eastern Kansas to eastern Monana.  Brisk southwesterly winds will develop across the Stateline overnight preventing the temperatures from dropping any lower than the upper 20's.  The strong southwesterly winds will continue on Tuesday.  The source region for the air will be the southern plains where humidity levels are relatively low, so it will be much warmer under mostly sunny skies.  The afternoon high on Tuesday will be in the middle 50's.  By early Wewdnesday morning a cold front will stretch from northwestern Wisconsin southwest through Omaha, Nebraska.  The strong southwesterly winds will continue through the day, and Gulf of Mexico moisture will be drawn northward into the mid west.  Skies will become mostly cloudy, and scattered showers will develop during the afternoon.  It will be very mild with an afternoon high near 60 degrees.  Showers will be likely on Wednesday night, and there could be some thunderstorms, too, as the cold front works its way across northern Illinois. The cold front will be east of Chicago and St. Louis by daybreak on Thursday.  There is a slight chance of some lingering showers in the morning. Skies will become partly cloudy, and it will be cooler with a high temperature in the middle 40's.  A sprawling Pacific type of high pressure will take charge of Stateline weather by Thursday night dropping tempertures to near 30 degrees.  On Friday the high will be located over the central plains providing a very nice day with  mostly sunny skies in the Greater Rockford, a gentle northwesterly breeze, and an afternoon high around 43 degrees.  The high will dominate upper midwestern weather next Saturday with mostly sunny skies, and afternoon temperatures in the low to middle 40's.