A Bonified Cold Snap... Freeze Warning Overnight

It hasn't happened very often during the past 5 months, but an area of high pressure over central Canada is driving late season arctic air across the Canadian border into the north central United States.  A FREEZE WARNING has been issued for the overnight hours through 9 am for south central, and southwestern Wisconsin, and north central Illinois.  The FREEZE WARNING ends an hour earlier at 8am across northwestern Illinois.  Overnight temperatures will drop into the upper 20's to the low 30's.  The cold temperatures may do damage to area fruit trees in bud or blossom to past blossom stage.  This cold snap may cause temperatures to be at, or slightly below freezing again on Tuesday and Wednesday nights with a threat of frost as the winds die down.  The high pressure ridge will remain to the west on Tuesday, and the pressure gradient will be rather strong once again, so the wind will pick up from the northwest by  mid day and will be 15 to 25 mph by mid afternoon with gusts to 35 mph.  It will be sunny, but cool, with an afternoon high only in the upper 40's.  It will be clear Tuesday night and cold with a low near 29 degrees.  On Wednesday the Canadian high pressure ridge will nudge in a little closer from the west, the wind still be northerly, and the skies will be sunny.  Temperatures will start to head back up, and the afternoon high will be in the middle 50's, but back down in the low 30's on Wednesday night as the high pressure ridge passes overhead, and moves to our east by Thursday morning.  Thursday will start off sunny, but it will become partly sunny in the afternoon as southerly winds begin to pick up Gulf Moisture in advance of a deepening storm system over the Rockies.  The is a slight chance of a couple of showers on Thursday night as the southerly winds continue, and the temperature holds in the low 40's.  The moderating temperature trend will continue on Friday as a storm system over northwestern Kansas continues to draw warmer and more moist air northward into the Stateline.  There will be a good chance of showers and thunderstorms from time to time from Friday through Sunday with the systems to the west slowly edging into the Stateline.  High temperatures will warm into the low 70's over the weekend.