Frost Potential Extends Into Saturday Morning, Ahead of Upcoming Rain Chances

 

Only in 2020 am I right? The month of October has two full moons this year. The Harvest moon at the beginning of the month, and the Hunter's Moon which occurs on Halloween. As many woke up for the day ahead, lingering cloud cover from yesterday's shower activity was slowly clearing out. This gave us the perfect opportunity to get a great view of the Harvest moon, as it shined bright over the Stateline. However, this morning's lunar spectacle did come with chilly temperatures. A sign for things to come as we now enter the end of the work week.

A portion of the Stateline remains under a Frost Advisory until 9AM this morning. Thanks to clearing skies overnight, and a brisk northwesterly wind, temperatures for most dropped into the upper 30s to start the day. If your morning routine takes you out the door early on, a jacket will be needed. Even brewing up a large warm beverage of your choice would be wise before heading out. As for the rest of our Friday, an area of high pressure over the Midwestern U.S will keep the weather dry. This morning's abundant sunshine will give way to a few fair weather cumulus clouds by the afternoon, with chilly highs in the low 50s. 

Cloud cover is expected to increase overnight, turning skies mostly cloudy by Saturday morning. Temperatures to start the day will be similar to today's start, with highs in the upper 30s. What does that entail? That the Stateline will have the potential for frost once again. However, the cloud cover will be a huge factor in the amount of frost the Stateline sees tomorrow morning. Current thinking is, our low-lying areas such as Freeport and Rochelle will have the best potential for patchy frost. Otherwise, it will be another chilly start to a chilly weekend. 

As for the upcoming weekend, today looks to be the best day for outdoor activities. Saturday will bring our next rain chances, but it isn't going to be a washout. Hi-res models do have a few scattered showers developing during the afternoon hours, so any outdoor plans to start the weekend should be done early. A better chance for rain does come late Saturday night into Sunday, as a weak system tracks in from the Midwest. Models continue to show this system sliding south of the Stateline, which would shift our winds to the northeast by Sunday morning. Showers look to persist intermittently before tapering off by the mid-day hours on Sunday. In general, rain isn't going to amount to more than a few tenths of an inch.