Yesterday's b-e-a-u-tiful sunshine was just what the doctor ordered after we started off 2023 with 8 straight days with overcast skies. Officially, the average cloud cover at the Rockford Airport came in at 60%, which is categorized as a partly cloudy day (40%-70%). While clouds were quick to return to the region overnight thanks to a passing clipper system, guidance does show signs that a little bit of sun is in the works for the day ahead.
Mild Tuesday:
Skies are in the process of clearing from west to east prior to the start of the morning commute. This will at least guarantee our region some sunshine during the first half of the day. But in a similar fashion to to how Monday panned out, clouds will increase during the afternoon, leaving us under a blanket of clouds by sunset.
The combination of today's partial sunshine and light westerly wind will help bring high temperatures back into the upper 30s, with a few spots landing in the low 40s. For those doing the math, that would land us between 10° to 15° above early-January standards. Skies remain mostly cloudy overnight into Wednesday morning, with temperatures falling into the low 30s. More of the same came be expected for tomorrow, just add a few more clouds to the forecast.
Guidance continues to show a stronger and more pronounced storm system tracking well to the south of the area by Thursday morning. Again, most of the impactful precipitation with this system aims to remain south of Interstate 80. However, there will be the opportunity locally for a light and scattered wintry mix during the early stages of the day. If any snow accumulations were to occur, they would be extremely minor.
No Signs of Winter:
On the backside of the departing low, winds turn to the northwest, allowing a cooler air-mass to filter in for the end of the work week. This will briefly bring our high temperatures down into the low 30s by Friday afternoon.
Keyword being "briefly". Winds take a turn to the southwest for the upcoming weekend, bringing the upward trend back to the area. Look for highs to peak in the upper 30s Saturday afternoon, with low 40s ticketed for Sunday. The climb in temperatures is set to continue into the beginning of next week as high inch closer to the 50-degree mark. During this stretch, the forecast remains dry with the exception of a small wintry mix chance overnight Saturday into Sunday.
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