Arctic blast to finally loosen its grip over northern Illinois this weekend

Same story, different day. It's just the Cold Weather Advisory isn't as expansive. The advisory includes Stephenson, Jo Daviess, Carroll, and Whiteside Counties and runs until 10AM. 

In those spots, wind chill values could fall between -15° and -20°. Values over the remainder of the region will still drop between -10° and -15°. Under a mostly clear sky, "out the door" temperatures will fall a few degrees below the 0° mark. 

Lots of sunshine can be expected to start the day, though clouds will begin to gather up from midday on. This will put a lid on our ability to warm, landing afternoon highs just short of the 20° mark. It’s still well-below where we should be this time of year, but another step in the right direction. Cloud cover will slowly clear Thursday night, allowing temperatures to briefly dip below zero once again. 

We will continue to slowly thaw out of this Arctic blast as winds turn to the southwest. This will leave afternoon chills in the single digits Friday, the teens Saturday, and then twenties for Sunday. High temperature-wise, we'll remain in the teens to round out the work week, but see temperatures climb into the 20s and 30s over the weekend. Each day does have a small chance for precipitation, with the highest chance arriving Monday with a cold front.