Thursday's strong frontal passage brought us from bitterly cold to "why do I live here" type cold as the anticipated Arctic blast was able to settle in.
Temperatures at the Rockford International Airport dropped from the upper 20s Thursday morning to near 0° by about 4-5PM, to near -10° shortly after the midnight hour.
That my friends is quite the drop. It gets dangerously worse when you factor in the rather intense westerly to northwesterly wind that is place across the region this morning. Wind chill values as of this writing are sitting in the -30° to -40° range. SHEESH! Again, please refrain from being outdoors this morning, or at any point today as frostbite can occur within 10 minutes if skin is left uncovered.
Road Check-Up:
As far as roads are concerned, the latest from IDOT does show that most of the our counties are reporting mostly snow-covered roads. Roads in our more populated areas will be in better shape than those in open areas.
Significant blowing and drifting snow will continue to make for hazardous travel, especially on north and south roadways. If you need to be out on the roads, I would recommend that you travel with extreme caution, especially in our more open areas.
These intense and brutally cold winds aren't going to diminish much as the day carries on. It's for that reason that our highs this afternoon will be heavily restricted, failing to eclipse the 0° mark. Friday night features little to no relief whatsoever as winds remain in the 30-40 mph range.
It's not until we get into the afternoon hours Saturday that the wind department will begin to receive slow improvements. With a little sunshine filtering through Saturday's cloud cover, highs will finally have the opportunity to climb back above 0°. However, wind chills are expected to remain WELL below zero
throughout the day. Temperatures into Christmas morning are expected to fall below zero for the third night in a row.
Christmas Day features a bit more sunshine as high pressure settles across the central plains. Despite that, temperatures will still be severely restricted, briefly touching the double-digits. It will still be important to wear multiple layers as wind chill values remain below zero.
Improvements in the temperatures department begin to filter in Tuesday as southwesterly winds take over the western Great Lakes. Highs Tuesday will make the jump into the low 20s, then to the mid 30s Wednesday, then to the low 40s by Thursday. That's some climb if you ask me. From -1° this afternoon to our forecast high of 43° for next Thursday. I guess you can that the forecast does feature a light at the end of the tunnel. We'll just have to get through a few dangerous cold days!
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