A brief return of wintery weather Tuesday night

 The sun-filled skies we were dealt Tuesday afternoon were much appreciated, but it didn't do much to warm our temperatures as most remained in the low to mid 40s. Rockford reached 44 degrees, 12 degrees below our daily average. But we will feel a quick warm up Wednesday as winds turn to the southwest giving temperatures a nice little boost back into the mid and upper 60s. With the return of the warmer air, however, there will also be a return of some light precipitation.

Cloud cover will continue to thicken up through the evening as moisture slowly increases from the south and southwest. Temperatures will drop back into the low to mid 30s early in the evening before climbing back close to 40 by sunrise Wednesday. 

An upper-level disturbance will move in from the west bringing with it a chance for some light precipitation late evening and overnight. Initially, we may see some light snow at the onset as temperatures near the surface will be close to freezing. But as those numbers begin to climb a transition over to sleet, and then eventually light rain, will occur after Midnight. I do not anticipate any accumulation of wintry weather or impacts on the roads as anything that does fall will be rather light and surface temperatures warm enough to prevent much of anything from sticking. And as for the rain, totals of less than a tenth of an inch are expected.

Most of the precipitation will be wrapping up around daybreak Wednesday. Temperatures will have warmed into the low 40s as winds turn to the southwest. Wind speeds will pick up throughout the morning, gusting around 35 mph throughout the afternoon. This will help bring temperatures into the mid and upper 60s for the afternoon. The chance for rain will return Wednesday late evening and overnight ahead of a cold front that'll move in from the west and northwest. Rainfall totals from Wednesday night through Thursday morning will range from a quarter of an inch up to half an inch.