Cold & Sun-Filled Friday Gives Way to Late Weekend Snow Potential

The mild weather as of recent was quickly put to an end thanks to the passage of an arctic front. Since Rockford posted a high of 40° Thursday afternoon, temperatures have plummeted as this colder air-mass continues to filter in. If you're coffee doesn't wake you up this morning, the bitterly cold will. Temps Friday morning are sitting 15° to 25° colder, with a few spots falling into the upper single-digits. For those that have to step out the door early on, extra layers will be needed. But if you don't have to be out and about this morning, remain in your pajamas. Old man winter looks to keep this bitterly cold air-mass around into the upcoming weekend, with snow chances quick to follow. 

An area of high pressure sliding in behind yesterday's cold front will help keep the atmosphere dry for the end of the work week. The sun-filled weather that mother nature has so graciously given us that past few days sticks around into Friday afternoon. But that sunshine won't do much for our temperatures. Behind the cold front, northwesterly winds have settled in, and continue to pull that arctic air into the Stateline, This will limit highs to the upper teens and low 20s, a mere 20° to 25° colder than temperatures on Thursday. With that in mind, be sure to have those extra layers with you throughout the afternoon and evening. Wind chills also won't budge much, struggling to climb out of the single-digits. 

Saturday won't be much warmer. Temperatures warm into the low 20's once again, with wind chills in the teens. Models continue to show this high pressure system moving overhead early Saturday, which will result in partly to mostly sunny skies. Clouds will be quick to move in by Saturday afternoon, as the first of two chances for snow approaches from the west. The first round of snow looks to start as early as Saturday evening, with light snow beginning to fall around or just after sunset. However, the bulk of the snow doesn't hit until later Saturday night. We'll see heavier showers by that point. Snow will continue until sunrise Sunday morning, tapering off to a dry but mostly cloudy afternoon. Overall, I think accumulations in the range of 1" to 3" will be possible from the first round. The second round however has the potential to bring more snow to the Stateline, but it all depends on the track.

Model guidance showed a strengthening area of low pressure sliding into the Midwest late Sunday night into Monday morning. The biggest uncertainty with this storm system remains to be the overall track it takes. How close this area of low pressure gets to the Stateline will be the determining factor into what we see here at home. The highest potential for accumulating snow seems to remain to the our south, but any shift northward in the system's will increase our chances to see heavier snow. It's going to be important to stay up-to-date with the forecast over the next 24 to 36 hours, as details will become more defined in regards to what we could expect late this weekend.