10 out 10 for Thursday, Warming Up into the Weekend

More of the Same:

A gusty northwest wind made for a near-seasonable day yesterday. Wind gusts across the region peaked between 25-30 mph, which held our high temperatures in the upper 70s. 

In fact, this is the 4th time since August 1st that the daily high at the Rockford International Airport failed to reach the 80-degree mark. Now, if you weren't able to enjoy yesterday's cool weather, more of the same is on tap for Thursday before we see a more summer-like air-mass move in for the upcoming weekend. 

We saw an end to Wednesday's gusty wind thanks to an area of high pressure that approached from the west. With this high pressure still in the vicinity of the Stateline, winds will once again be out of the northwest, but won't nearly be as strong. In a similar fashion to Wednesday, sunshine will kick off the day with a few more clouds developing during the afternoon. 

Temperatures will top out in the middle and upper 70s, right on par with what we should be seeing this time of year. Some of today's clouds may linger into the first half of tonight, but skies should remain clear enough for temperatures to drop back into the low 50s. Although Friday starts off on a fall-like note, summer quickly takes control by the afternoon. With us being in September, the battle between the fall and summer seasons will make for quite the roller-coaster ride. But it seems that summer looks to keep a grip on our temperatures well into the weekend.

Warming Back Up:

The same high pressure system mentioned above is expected to shift to the southeast, turning our surface winds to the south and southwest by Friday afternoon. Highs jump back into the low 80s, but thankfully there will be no issue with the humidity as it looks to remain low. 

Of the next 7 days, all signs point to Saturday as being the hottest. With a stronger southwest wind, highs for most look to top out in the upper 80s for most, with a spot or two barely hitting the 90-degree mark. So far in 2021, Rockford has observed 30 90-degrees day, which is exactly double the amount of 90-degree days we typically see on average for the year. But number 31 may occur on Saturday. Then a cold front is schedule to arrive sometime on Sunday, slightly bringing back highs into the mid to upper 80s as we roll into next week.