Winter's Chill Moves Out, 70s Return For Easter Sunday

Last of Winter's Chill:

Winter's chill lingered into the beginning of April, with highs Thursday only topping out in the low 40s. For those those that are keeping track, we are normally about to jump into the mid 50s during the first week of April. While it'll be chilly heading out Friday morning, temperatures rebound nicely to round out the work week. 

Underneath an expansive area of high pressure, temperatures once again were given the opportunity to rapidly drop. For those early-risers, temperatures to start were in the low to mid 20s. But thanks to a light southerly-southeasterly wind being present, it felt even cooler out there with wind chills registering in the teens. Yes, it's another morning where you want to either grab an extra layer or two, or have that heavier jacket on. However, today is the day we turn the page on this brief cooldown and see a nice warm up for the upcoming holiday weekend. 

Easter Weekend Forecast:

As this high pressure system moves to our southeast, winds out of the south are expected to pick up into Friday afternoon. With gusts approaching 20-25 mph at times, temperatures are expected to climb out of the 40s, with most spots landing in the low 50s. Guidance continues to indicate a very dry atmosphere overhead, resulting in more sunshine. This slight warm up helps open the door for a beautiful forecast for Easter weekend. As ridging takes hold of the central U.S, southwest winds will help usher in an even warmer air-mass, pushing highs in the upper 60s Saturday and low 70s on Sunday. Along with the warmth, the sunshine sticks around. We just may see a few more cloud hovering overhead for Easter Sunday. All in all, the forecast looks lovely for when the Easter bunny arrives, or for those outdoor plans!

First 70° Day:

70s sound wonderful doesn't it. Well, it's been a while since Rockford or our area has seen high temperatures in the 70s. You would have to go back to November 10th, which as of today is 143 days ago, to find our last 70° day. Taking a glimpse at the long-range forecast, it seems that the 70s look to stick around into Monday & Tuesday. A cooler trend then moves in by midweek as our next system rolls in from the west!