Light Snow/Mix Early Thursday, Rain Chances Return by Friday Afternoon

Morning Wintry Mix:

Although it was a rather chilly day across the region, yesterday's sunshine gave us a much-needed break from this active stretch of weather. Highs under mostly sunny skies reached the low 30s, which lands only a few degrees below average. Now, I wish I could say that Wednesday's beautiful sunshine will be carrying on into our Thursday. 

However, that's far from the truth as our weather pattern shifts to a more active state for the remainder of the work week. Guidance shows the first of two systems is scheduled to arrive today. With today's weak disturbance comes the potential for scattered light snow showers, mainly during the morning hours. Rain may mix in a times, especially once temperatures climb above freezing. Our chances look to come to an end quickly, leaving us with a mostly cloudy sky for the afternoon. 

Friday's Storm System:

Cloud cover will linger into the early stages of our Friday, with temps falling on either side of the 30-degree mark. A trough coming off the Rocky Mountain will bring us the second and stronger system of the two, resulting in rain chances by the early afternoon hours. Tomorrow's activity will be widely scattered and most, if not all of the Stateline will get in on these rain chances. 

Once the cold front slides through, temperatures are expected to dip below the freezing mark by early Saturday morning. This will bring the potential for a mix of light rain and snow before chances come to an end before mid-day. Skies will then slowly clear into the afternoon, with highs topping out in the 30s. The cool-down that follows Friday's storm system will be very short-lived as temperatures will rebound quickly, becoming unseasonably warm by early next week.

Feeling More Like October:

Guidance shows the jet stream taking a trip to our north, allowing a much warmer air-mass to filter into the Midwest and the Great Lakes. Instead of feeling like mid-December, we'll feel more like mid-October as highs jump into the 50s both Monday and Tuesday, with the potential for 60-degree weather come Wednesday. 

In case you were wondering, Rockford on average sees three days with highs of 60 degrees or higher during the month of December. It'll be important to monitor how models trend with temperatures over the next few days as the warmth may continue into the second half of next week.