Under bright sunshine, Sunday afternoon saw temperatures warm into the 60s, including a high of 61 in Rockford! While not quite a record high, we will likely see a broken record with Monday's high temperature.
The milder air lately has not come with much wind, but that will change over the next few days. A series of low pressure systems will begin to increase winds locally Monday morning. By the afternoon, West-Southwest gusts could reach 20-30 mph. Winds will flip to the Southeast Tuesday as a frontal boundary pushes across the area. Behind the low pressure Wednesday, winds will turn Westerly and increase to 25-35 mph gusts.
The more West-Southwest wind Monday will allow for temperatures to surge near or above 60 degrees again despite the added cloud cover. This will more than likely break the record high for February 16th, which is currently 57° set in 1921.
Monday night into Tuesday will feature a cold front sliding in from the North before stalling out overhead overnight. This stationary boundary may produce some areas of fog which could carry over into Tuesday morning. The front will only pull back North of the region Tuesday evening, so we will remain in the 50s for Tuesday afternoon.
Spotty showers will accompany a passing low pressure system Tuesday night, with even a low-end risk for some isolated thunderstorms. Coverage of rain will not be that high, and only up to a quarter inch may come down in any given location. Temperatures may remain in the upper 40s or warmer all of Tuesday night.
The combination of strong winds, another warm day, and much drier air Wednesday will result in an elevated fire risk for the afternoon in particular. Dew point temperatures will drop into the 20s Wednesday afternoon, resulting in low relative humidity. Avoid outdoor burning Wednesday as fires may be able to spread very quickly.
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