Light showers follow third 50-degree day in a row, Gusty winds to end the week

For the third straight day in a row the high temperature warmed into the 50s, with Rockford's high reaching 51 degrees. This is the 5th 50-degree day (plus) we've had so far this year, with two 50-degree days recorded in January. On average, our first 50-degree day usually occurs around the 7th of February. Thursday's high won't be quite as warm as a cooler air mass arrives following a cold front Wednesday evening. Still above normal, however, high temperatures will reach the low to mid-40s.

A few scattered rain showers will move in from the northwest with the cold front Wednesday evening. These won't add up to much and should be wrapping up by Midnight. Skies will stay mostly cloudy overnight as temperatures fall into the low 30s.

A brisk northwest wind will follow Thursday afternoon as a trough - or dip in the jet stream - strengthens across the Great Lakes. Embedded within the trough will be several upper-level disturbances that may be able to squeeze out a few scattered showers, especially during the first half of the day. Temperatures will warm into the 40s, roughly about 10 degrees cooler than the last few days, and still above normal. Our normal high this time of year is 37 degrees.

Northwest winds will gust 25-30 mph throughout the afternoon which will make it feel quite a bit cooler than the last few days. Winds may briefly ease Thursday evening before ramping back up Friday ahead of yet another low-pressure system that moves in from Canada. 

This low will quickly slide to our north Friday, ushering in a relatively warmer air mass and strong southerly winds. Wind gusts on Friday could

approach 40 mph, especially during the first half of the day. High temperatures Friday will warm 50s before an even bigger drop in temperatures occurs for the weekend. Highs Saturday will only warm into the low 30s, with temperatures Sunday in the upper 30s. Quite the difference from the spring-like warmth as of late.