Much Needed Warmth on the Horizon, 40° Highs Possible

I know a lot of you don't want to hear about the Arctic Air anymore. I'm totally with you on that! But I come with good news. Last Monday, the Rockford International Airport observed a bone-chilling high of 5°, which at the time was around 30° below average. Thankfully, that won't be the case this time around. Warm & gusty winds will help push temperatures closer to average for the start of the work week. We'll even have the potential to close in on the 40° mark, something that hasn't occurred a  little over a month.

While the snow came to an end shortly after midnight, a few slick spots will be possible throughout the morning. A lingering westerly to southwesterly breeze held temperatures in the low 30s for a majority of the morning, before quickly dropping into the 20s. Any moisture lingering on road surfaces will have the potential to quickly freeze, resulting in patchy slick spots. Patchy fog will also be a possibility for those traveling during the morning commute, especially for areas in northwest Illinois. Use extra caution if traveling. On a side note, it did feel nice walking out the door this morning didn't it? Well I'm happy to say that this morning's "warm feel" to the air is a sign for things to come.

Cloud cover is expected to stick around for majority of our Monday. Guidance continues to show a weak disturbance tracking to our north overnight, resulting in an isolated sprinkle or shower for areas up in southern Wisconsin. Once that disturbance begins to pull away from the area, clouds will slowly decrease into Tuesday morning, resulting in a partly sunny Tuesday. Unlike the last two weeks, Monday and Tuesday feature warmer surface winds out of the west-southwest.

Wind gusts this afternoon could be as high as 30 mph, which will help bring temperatures into the mid 30s. Winds are expected to lighten up a little on Tuesday, but a southwest breeze will heighten the potential for a 40° high. Do you remember the last 40° day? I know it's been a while since we've talked about this type of warmth. But we'll have to go all the back to January 21st, 2021 to find our last 40° day, a mere 32 days ago. A cold front is set to pass through early Wednesday morning bringing slightly cooler temperatures for the second half of the work week. It feels fantastic to say that when I say "slightly cooler", I mean only low 30s. Not single-digits and low to mid teens!