Cold front brings an end to the recent spring-like warmth

Monday's warmth was a blessing as it was enough for Rockford to see its first 60° day of the year and first 60° day since November 19th.

Lots of sun and an organized southwesterly breeze had a lot to do with yesterday's May-like warmth. A cold front will shake things up a bit for Tuesday, leaving highs cooler this afternoon.

 

This cold front is quite moisture starved, meaning it will only supply us with a few clouds and not bring any morning chances for rain. 

Behind it, winds turn to the northwest at first, then to the northeast, leaving afternoon highs hovering near the 50° mark under mixed sunshine. Compared to Monday's temperatures, this lands 15°-20° cooler. Overnight, we hold on to partly cloudy skies with temperatures falling into the low 30s.

Don't fret. This cooldown is very brief. Temperatures will be on the climb again starting tomorrow, leaving us near 60° and then low 60s Thursday. This upswing in temperatures peaks on Friday as we will likely see our first 70° day of the year. But with a warm up like that comes a few caveats including a gusty wind and the chance for thunderstorms. 

Continue to monitor the forecast. In this morning's long range outlook provided by the Storm Prediction Center, the entire area was placed under a 15% risk for strong to severe storms. This is equivalent to a long-range level 2 slight risk. Forecast models do show our atmosphere being capped, meaning warm air aloft will put a lid on thunderstorm chances until Friday evening and Friday night. It's possible these chances linger into early Saturday. Just to be on the safe side, practice your severe plan!