Sunshine & "Warmer" Temps Arrive to End the Work Week

Our Thursday morning kicked off with a much "warmer" start than what we have been subjected to over the past few days. Despite a cold frontal passage, temperatures are close to 5°-10° warmer than early Wednesday morning. It brought a few flurries to the region, but all of that precipitation has cleared the region as we enter the mid-morning hours. Clouds on the other hand are going to be a tad more stubborn to leave. Skies stay mostly cloudy early on before eventually give way to sunshine by this afternoon.

The entire month of November so far has been below average. In fact, Rockford from November 1st to the 13th has logged an average temperature of 29.8°. That currently stands as the second coldest start to the month of November on record, second to 1991 (27.0°). We will continue the cooler than average trend today, but we’ll make a run at 32° this afternoon.

And after the start to the week that we've had, I personally am looking forward to the 30s. Especially since it has felt like the "dead of winter" the past few days. Clouds are forecast to gradually taper through the morning and afternoon, resulting in a mix of clouds and sunshine. Due to the cold frontal passage, winds have switched from the southwest to out of the northwest and will stay fairly light throughout the day.

The weather expected for tonight is going to provide the perfect opportunity for temperatures to "bottom out" or rapidly fall. With mostly clear skies, calm winds, and all that snow covering the surface, temperatures are set to drop into the teens by Friday morning. A bit of patchy fog is also possible before the sun rises. We’ll see another day of sunshine tomorrow, with highs climbing into the upper 30s. It feels like it's been forever since we have seen temperatures above the freezing mark. Dry conditions look to stick around through the first half of the weekend.  More cloud cover is expected to move in late Saturday ahead of our next system. A mix of rain and snow is possible late Saturday night before gradually transitioning to all liquid rainfall by Sunday. Until then, enjoy the sunshine and warmer temperatures!