Winds ramp up across northern Illinois ahead of approaching cold front

Strong Winds Return: 

Northern Illinois managed to see some sunshine on Monday, but it was paired with a bitterly cold wind that kept highs in the upper 20s.

Winds will be warmer and stronger today, with gusts reaching 35 to 40 mph. The strongest winds are will occur through the morning and early afternoon, and this increased flow will help boost our temperatures, resulting in a warmer afternoon.  

Ahead of this evening's cold front, afternoon highs will rise into the upper 30s and low 40s. The cold front may also bring a brief, spotty rain-snow mix, with the highest precipitation chance occurring north of the Illinois-Wisconsin border. 

Once the front is to our southeast, skies will clear into the overnight hours. This will leave us dry but breezy with lows falling into the low 20s. 

Pre-Weekend Warmup:

Wednesday will be the coolest day of the next 5 as highs only reach the low 30s. After that, we'll see another temperature rise that will leave us near the 40° mark Thursday, then low 50s Friday. Similar to today's warm up, Friday's features a robust wind ahead of a secondary cold front.