Friday, January 6, 2023

Tranquil Friday Ahead, Partial Sunshine This Weekend

Cloudy Trend:

Thanks to this week's stubbornly slow-moving storm system, N. IL and S. WI witnessed it's 5th straight day with a completely cloudy sky. Now, it goes without saying that this is very common during the winter months as the sun angle doesn't have much jurisdiction over the rate in which the atmosphere mixes out. With that being said, and I know a lot of you will agree with me, I'm ready for mother nature to throw some sun our way.

Sunshine Late:

Friday kicks off under a mostly cloudy sky. But, the west-northwest wind that will be in place will slowly help filter in drier air, resulting in a few peeks of late-day sun. 

Despite that, the lingering cloud cover and chilly wind will severely restrict high temperatures, with most peaking near the 32° mark. As an area of high pressure inches closer to the region, clouds will continue to clear into tonight, leaving us under a partly cloudy sky. It will be a much cooler start to the day tomorrow as temperatures aim to fall into the upper teens. This lands about 5° to 10° cooler than lows this morning. 

Sunshine Sticks Around:

Saturday morning may feature the potential for patchy dense fog. Otherwise, we can expect a mainly dry day with much of it being spent under a mix of clouds and sunshine. 

Despite the east-northeast shift in our surface winds, high temperatures will end up a few degrees warmer, landing in the mid to upper 30s. Overnight Saturday, a weak disturbance sliding well to the south of the area will bring a slight increase in cloud cover as well as a very small chance for a snow shower or two. Chances however come to an end pretty quickly early Sunday, with partly sunny skies making a return. Highs will once again be able to climb into the mid to upper 30s. Even warmer Monday as southwest winds return. 

January Daylight:

Speaking of daylight, northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin gains roughly 50 minutes of daylight during the month of January. Sunrises by the end of the month will be getting closer to 7AM, while sunsets will be happening a few minutes after 5PM. The closer we get to the day in which the spring equinox occurs (March 20th), the longer our days are going to get. YES PLEASE!

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