Weekend weather update: Light snow moves in Saturday night

 

Temperatures Saturday afternoon will warm into the middle 30s under mostly cloudy skies. High pressure over the Great Lakes will keep winds light through the evening, but gusts will increase following a cold front Sunday evening. This will push temperatures down into the teens Monday morning, but wind chills into the single digits.

Skies will stay mostly cloudy through Saturday afternoon, although some peeks of sunshine may develop south of Rockford late morning. High temperatures will sit roughly 7-10 degrees below average (average high low 40s). Winds will remain light from the southwest around 5-10 mph.

Light snow has been showing up on radar over the last few hours, but an extremely dry air mass near the surface will keep the snow from reaching the ground until Saturday night. As moisture and forcing continue to increase from the west we will begin to see snow showers increase in both coverage and intensity. Light snow moves in after Midnight and will continue through most of Sunday morning. While the majority of the snow is expected to be light, there could be some bands of moderate snowfall west and southwest of I-39. Winter Weather Advisories have been issued just outside of the immediate viewing area from Davenport, IA through Missouri.

Snowfall totals will range between 1-2 inches area wide, but a few three-inch reports are possible, especially for some in Carroll, Whiteside, Ogle, and Lee counties. Untreated and elevated surfaces are likely to become slick with subfreezing temperatures Sunday morning. Drive with caution if you're out during that time. The highest snowfall rates will occur from 4am to 10am Sunday, tapering off to a few flurries through Noon. 

A strong cold front will arrive from the northwest Sunday afternoon which could bring a few additional light snow showers through the evening. No additional accumulation is expected. Northwest winds will increase behind the front, gusting to 30 mph through Monday morning. This will not only bring air temperatures down into the teens, but wind chills will fall into the single digits! Highs on Monday will only climb to 29 degrees for the afternoon.