Bitter cold air on the way through the weekend

 It was an incredibly mild day in the Stateline with highs reaching the 50s! Rockford hit 54°, setting a new record high for today's date. Our next cold front is already dropping temperatures quickly this evening, many spots were in the 30s by 6PM.

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The chill begins to set in through much of the day tomorrow, as high temperatures will only rebound into the low 20s. Temperatures will hold steady for a few hours during the late morning and early afternoon, but the evening will bring another big drop in temperatures, reaching the low single digits Sunday morning. Afternoon highs Sunday-Tuesday will only top out in the single digits, with overnight lows below zero Sunday and Monday nights.

Our wind chills will play a huge role over the next few days. We will see those "feels like" chills settle below zero starting Saturday evening, and they will likely remain below zero through early Wednesday! The lowest chills come between Sunday and Tuesday, with daytime chills ranging from -10° to -20° and overnight chills from -15° to -25°. The coldest time frame will be Monday and Tuesday mornings, where chills of -25° or lower are most possible. Be sure to bundle up if you must be outside in these conditions, as frostbite can occur on exposed skin within 15 minutes when the wind chill is -20° or -25°.

If we see the confidence of wind chills near -20° increase, we could likely see a "Cold Weather Advisory" issued for the first time. This is a new alert from the NWS that replaces the old "Wind Chill Advisory". Criteria for issuance remain when apparent temperatures (wind chill) reach -20° to -30°. If wind chills were to reach -30° for a duration of time, an "Extreme Cold" watch or warning could be issued. This alert replaces the old "Wind Chill" watch and warning. For more information on the change to those alerts, visit this story from November: Changes coming to some winter alerts this season.