Sunshine Returns, Coldest Air of the Season Arrives for Weeks End

Yesterday, the Stateline welcomed the sunshine with open arms. As we've said on multiple occasions, the cloud cover has been very stubborn during the month of January. Yesterday's average cloud cover at the Rockford International Airport was observed at 50%, marking only the 2nd day this month that we've seen our average cloud cover at or below 50%. Yesterday's plethora of sunshine will stick around into our Thursday, along with another round of gusty winds.

Remember how we woke up to single-digit temperatures on Wednesday morning? Well, gusty winds lingering into this morning has made it rather difficult for temperatures to fall. Temperatures early on this morning were running about 20° to 30° warmer than at this point Wednesday morning, with most spots in the upper 20s and low 30s. Even though it wasn't quite as cold as Wednesday morning, I'd stick make sure to put on an extra layer or two before you head out the door. Wind chills are registering in the teens for those that are experiencing the strongest winds this morning. Slick spots will also be a possibility this morning thanks to the lingering wind, especially on north and south roadways.

More of the same is on tap for the Stateline, as this dry stretch of weather persist. An abundance of sunshine is expected into the afternoon, giving way to a few more clouds by this evening. Winds will once again become a little gusty, ranging from 25 to 30 mph throughout the afternoon and into the evening commute. These winds will help push temperatures into the mid to upper 30s ahead of a cold front that looks to arrive late this evening. Unlike the cold front that passed through Wednesday evening, this one has a little more to work with. Clouds will increase a smidge, turning skies partly cloudy. Along with those clouds could come a couple of flurries. Once the front slides through the region, the focus then goes from gusty winds to the arrival of the coldest air of the season. 

Behind this cold front, a very cold air-mass that's be shackled to southern Canada and the Upper Midwest will slowly filter in. This will allow temperatures to crash into Friday morning, with the coldest morning of the winter season set to arrive on Saturday. High temperatures will drop from the mid to upper 30s today, down into the low 20s Friday and Saturday afternoon. A strong area of high pressure will slide in behind tonight's cold front, moving overhead Saturday morning. This will significantly dry out the atmosphere, allowing temperatures to fall close to the 0° mark during the pre-dawn hours Saturday. Remember, we haven't had any sub-zero temperatures observed at the Rockford airport this winter. This is mostly because taste of winter have been hard to come by this winter season. Going back to last winter, Rockford didn't observed a sub-zero temperature until February 13th. On a positive note, the sunshine sticks around through all of this, lasting into the first half of the weekend!