Historic Halloween is on Tap for the Stateline

Who would have thought we would be talking about having a white Halloween. Just to recap. we had the first round of snow come through Monday night - Tuesday morning giving us the first snowflakes of the season. Round two is currently underway. Some areas of northern Illinois, mostly south and southeast of Rockford, woke up to a sloppy commute this morning. A mix of heavy, wet snow and a cold rain has fallen primarily south of I-88.

The third and final round of snow for this week moves in later today and could dump quite a bit on the Stateline. As a low pressure system develops over the Great Plains, moisture will continue to stream northward into the Stateline. Going into the afternoon, as temperatures climb into the upper 30s to near 40, a light wintry mix is expected as snow gradually mixes in with some rain. This will then transition to mostly rain event for the rest of the afternoon, and it's going to be a chilly rain because of how well below average temperatures will be today. You still cannot rule out a few snowflakes making it to the ground this afternoon, but any travel plans should’t be impeded aside from the wet roads. Just be sure to take your time on the roads.

Rain will transition to all snow shortly after sunset. Temperatures overnight will slowly sink down into the low 30s by the time we wake up and start preparing for our day tomorrow morning. Precipitation begins to pick up in intensity and could make for slick driving by the early morning hours of Thursday. Snow during the overnight hours could be quite heavy at times, leading to reduced visibility and tricky driving conditions.

By Thursday morning, if you have to go into work or school, you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time. Bands of heavier snow are likely and slick roads become a concern. Snow will begin to accumulate on grassy surfaces first, might take a few hours to start accumulating on the roads. In the title, it say a "historic" Halloween is on tap for us. That is because the “snowiest” Halloween on record for the Rockford area was actually not too long again. Back in 2014, the airport recorded an astonishing .... are you ready for this?, an astonishing 0.1″ of snow.  That record is more than likely going to be smashed when this is all said and done as 3″ to 5″ of snow is likely. Some localized spots could see even more or less.

Not only will tomorrow become the snowiest Halloween on record, but could potentially be one of the coldest Halloweens on record. Highs are forecast to only top out in the low 30s, with our high topping out around 34°. The coldest Halloween on record occurred back in 1917 where a high of 32° was observed. A lot is still in question as this system continues to evolve, so be sure to continues to stay with us on-air and online for the latest updates.