Breezy Monday Ahead, Cooler Nights to Follow

Chilly Start: 

It sure was nice to see a good amount of sun on Sunday following Saturday's thick cloud cover. 

High temperatures for most peaked in the lower 70s, with the Rockford Airport just hitting the 70° mark. The work week begins on a cooler note as northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin are waking up in the mid to upper 40s. 

Compared to temperatures Sunday morning, this lands about 5° to 10° cooler. So before you take that first step out the door, make sure to grab your favorite sweatshirt or jacket to stay warm. The cooler start to the day tells the tale for the rest of our Monday and also gives a hint on what to expect moving forward.

Breezy Monday:

In a similar fashion to Sunday, the surface pressure locally is expected to tighten up, resulting in quite the wind for the afternoon hours. Winds for the most part will be blowing out of the north and northwest, with gusts peaking near 30 mph. 

Despite the fact that today features a bit more sunshine, that chilly wind will bring highs back into the lower 60s. Any clouds that are hovering overhead during the afternoon is expected to clear out after sunset. That, along with lighter surface winds will allow temperatures to rapidly cool even further into Tuesday morning. When all’s said and done, we can expect lower 40s for the Rockford area, though upper 30s are likely in some of our cooler, outlying spots. 

Chilly Nights Ahead:

A backdoor cold front (a front that moves in from the north/northeast) looks to slide through during the early stages of Tuesday. This will allow an even cooler air-mass to slides into the Great Lakes region, resulting in cooler days and cooler night. 

Expect high temperatures to fall into the upper 50s by Wednesday afternoon, with overnight lows getting VERY closer to patchy frost criteria. Clouds may become present Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, which should limit our frost potential. However, overnight lows for both Tuesday and Wednesday night will fall into the mid to upper 30s. Compared to late-September standards, this lands roughly 15° to 20° cooler. Improvements in the temperature department doesn't look to arrive until the weekend. However, the rainfall department looks to shut down for a bit as a strong area of high pressure remains in control for much of the next 7 days!