Temperatures hit 90 degrees for the first time this season Wednesday afternoon

 

Phew! It was a toasty one this afternoon with temperatures warming into the upper 80s and low 90s. Rockford reached its warmest temperature so far this season with a high of 91 degrees! The record high for May 27th is 99, which was set back in 2012. The low this morning fell to 52.

Skies have been mostly sunny for much of the afternoon with only a few cumulus clouds bubbling up over the last few hours. Those clouds have formed with the little instability we have overhead but are beginning to quickly fade this evening. Temperatures will remain in the 80s through sunset but are expected to quickly drop following the passage of a back-door cold front this evening. Overnight lows will once again drop into the low to mid 50s.

Thunderstorms have developed along the cold front to our north in Wisconsin but will really lose steam as they travel closer to southern Wisconsin after 7pm/8pm. There is a small chance for an isolated shower or storm in southern Wisconsin, but the vast majority of the viewing area is expected to remain dry.

On average, our first 90 degree day is usually reached around June 4th. Last year the mercury reached 90 degrees on May 15th. Our earliest recorded 90 degree day occurred on April 10th back in 1930, and our latest was in 2008 when we didn't reach 90 degrees until September 1st. This will likely be our only 90 degree day through the rest of May as temperatures are expected to remain in the 70s and 80s through the weekend and into the beginning of June.