Temperatures could take a big plunge for some late next week

It's hard to believe the end of November is almost here!  Temperatures for the end of the month will be right around average, upper 30's/low 40's, but looking ahead to next week big changes are in store for the forecast.  Monday and Tuesday a warm front will remain draped across the Midwest with Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin remaining on the north side of the front.  This means temperatures will be border-line warm enough aloft to support rain, but at the surface temperatures it will be cold enough to keep a rain/snow mix, or even all snow, during the first of the week.  By Wednesday, the warm front will lift north into Wisconsin and draw a little more warmth and moisture into the Stateline.  As a series of upper level disturbances follow the jet stream from Texas to Minnesota, scattered rain showers will be likely through Thursday.

By Thursday night, a strong cold front will move through dropping temperatures for the upcoming weekend.  What's impressive with this front is the amount of cold air that will be funneling in behind it, especially across the Plains.  Temperatures by next week could be nearly 20 to 30 below average!  However, some of that air will lose it's chill by the time it reaches the Rockford area.  One of the reasons for that is snow cover.  Even though the snow will fall in the Plains, and we could see a little here next week, our current snow pack, or depth, isn't that great.  The deeper the snow pack Arctic air has to travel across the longer the chill stays in the air mass.  So while it looks like another blast from the Arctic will arrive just in time for the first weekend of December, temperatures likely won't drop to as cold as they could be.