Cloud cover remained in place throughout much of Sunday, but a few brief breaks in the clouds allowed Rockford to warm to 51° around noon. Clouds will thicken back up through the evening, allowing our next rain chances to follow. Spotty showers and patches of drizzle may be possible after 8/9PM Sunday and last through much of the night. Total rainfall will remain less than a tenth of an inch for most.
Tomorrow will continue the gloomy weather with more clouds and patches of isolated showers during the morning and again early in the afternoon. Temperatures will be on the decline all day behind this weather system, dropping into the 20s by Tuesday morning with gradual clearing.
Looking ahead into the holiday travel week, there is a chance for some precipitation between Tuesday night and Thursday within the general region. We have to watch upstream for a few subtle weather features and how they evolve before arriving. The two waves we are watching are near Northern California and along the British Columbia/Alberta borders. How much these features phase, or interact with one another will determine how strong the weather system could be for us mid-week.
As of now, models have been trending downward for us locally, as the weather system would be much weaker Tuesday into Wednesday before strengthening to the East of us. That said, we could have just enough moisture and cold air to provide some spotty snow showers mixed in with rain over the Tuesday night into Wednesday time frame. We may then see some light snow Thursday into Friday on the back side of the system as our first true shot of winter air arrives. Potential snowfall accumulations are unimpressive locally compared to what some models were showing a day or two ago, but there is still lots of uncertainty with how the system may develop, so stay tuned to the forecast!
One thing that is more confident is the big-time cool down on the way for the middle to end of the week. High temperatures will be in the 30s Tuesday through Thursday, with lows in the 20s each night. Slim chances for precipitation begin Tuesday night into Wednesday and again Thursday, but coverage looks limited in Northern Illinois as of now.
Even colder weather will be arriving by end of the week, as highs will drop into the 20s by Friday and Saturday, with lows in the teens possible next weekend. The confidence in the below average trend continues into the turn of the calendar, with 80-90% chance of seeing below average temperatures between November 30th and December 4th, according to the Climate Prediction Center forecast.
This 7-day is the coldest one in quite a while, with highs dropping through the 30s and into the 20s much of the week, straight through Thanksgiving. Slim chances for snow may be possible Tuesday night through Thursday, with some rain possibly mixed in on Wednesday. As the Arctic air arrives for the weekend, snow flurries may be possible again, with little to no accumulation expected during that time.
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