Cooler weather settles in Thursday; Light showers possible Friday afternoon

 Temperatures Thursday definitely felt more fall-like as highs remained in the low to mid 60s under partly sunny skies. The official high temperature in Rockford reached 65 degrees. Skies were filled with flat, fair weather cumulus clouds during the afternoon, but those have since faded leaving us with a mostly clear sky.

The clear sky won't last through the entire night as cloud cover is expected to move back in Friday morning. This will limit just how cold temperatures get during the morning, but it'll still remain brisk with lows dropping into the low 40s. Where skies are clear a little longer, a few spots may bottom out right at 40 degrees.

Cloud cover will continue to increase throughout the day as winds turn to the south, pulling in a little moisture ahead of a cold front. This will leave our Friday afternoon under a mostly cloudy sky and temperatures only reaching the low 60s.

A few sprinkles, or light showers, are possible mid to late Friday afternoon as the warm front nears, but any rainfall amounts should remain light. Skies will dry out for the evening, but another round of rain is
expected to move in with the warm front late Friday night/early Saturday morning. These showers will produce a little more rain, but totals are still expected to remain below a tenth of an inch. Skies will start cloudy Saturday morning, but drier air working in behind the warm front should allow more sunshine to poke through during the afternoon. Winds pick up from the southwest, bringing temperatures close to 70 degrees. We could be a little warmer, depending on how fast skies are able to clear. 

A cold front will be quick to move in Saturday evening which could bring another light shower or two, but we'll maintain a mostly cloudy sky through the night. Highs on Sunday will warm to only the upper 60s, right around 70 degrees.