Temperatures surge upward following a chilly Wednesday

Windy February: 

February hasn't just been very dry across northern Illinois, there's also been a lot of wind. Rockford has already logged 7 days with a peak gust of 30 mph or higher, including yesterday.

 

  

Cooler Wednesday:

Winds will stay breezy today, but they'll be coming out of a cooler direction thanks to the cold front that came through Tuesday evening. As a result, we can expect a cooler afternoon with highs being limited to the low 30s under partly cloudy skies. 

  

A passing clipper system to our west could bring a brief chance for a flurry or snow showers overnight into Thursday morning. However, the system's track look far enough to the southwest that any chance for snow would remain quite low. 

 

Late-Week Warmup: 

Fortunately, this is the coolest day of the remaining days of the work week. As an area of high pressure shifts to the east of the Stateline by Thursday, winds will be warmer, allowing temperatures to climb significantly  ahead of the weekend. Afternoon highs will reach the low 40s Thursday and then surge into the upper 50s Friday. This warm up also occurs ahead of another cold front which will knock temperatures down for Saturday and Sunday.