Frosty mornings continue, rain set to arrive late Wednesday

Morning Frost:

A stubborn batch of slow-moving clouds limited our potential for frost Monday morning. As we wake up this time around, that isn't the case. With a mostly clear sky in place overnight, the heat absorbed by the surface Monday was able to escape back into space, allowing the cooling process to accelerate. 

As a result, temperatures are running 5°-10° cooler this morning, with most of our local airports sitting in the mid 30s. Cold enough for an extra layer or two, but also cold enough for frost to develop. For that, a Frost Advisory remains in effect until 8AM (9AM for for Jo-Daviess, Stephenson, Carroll, and Whiteside County). 

The rest of Tuesday will be problem-free, with mixed sunshine being present during the afternoon. Winds will once again be breezy, this time out of the westerly direction. This will allow afternoon highs to inch closer to the 60° mark. 

Now, if the Rockford Airport does hit that mark, it would be the first time we've hit 60° since last Thursday. Clear skies and light winds will again be present overnight, allowing another round of frost to develop Wednesday morning.  

Rainy Pattern Sets In:

Clouds will thicken up Wednesday, which may result in the small chance for spotty showers. Chances become a bit higher into Thursday as a slow moving storm system approaches from the southwest. It’s set to bring periodic rains to the area Thursday and Friday, with the heaviest rainfall scheduled to arrive during the day Friday. 

Severe potential is low, but we'll have to watch and see if anything were to organize along the lifting warm front. Showers look likely to linger well into Saturday, though precipitation figures to be on the lighter side by that stage in the game. Temperatures as the surface low tracks overhead will dip into the low 50s, staying in the low to mid 50s into early next week!