Cooler air settles in, Halloween showers fade through the day

Cooler Friday:

The fall-like chill is back across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, with temperatures running 15 to 25 degrees cooler than the unseasonable warmth we experienced earlier this week. Temperatures this morning have dipped into the upper 30s, giving the area a more fall-like feel. 

 

As the day goes on, cloud cover will continue to build across the area. That, along with a light northeasterly wind will keep the cooler air locked in place for the end of the work week, limiting afternoon highs to the upper 50s, close to 60°. Along with the cloud cover, a few afternoon sprinkles are possible. 

 

 

Halloween Climate:

Halloween has a habit of delivering just about every type of weather for Rockford. While this year's warm up won't be as substantial as the warmth we saw earlier in the week, temperatures remain far from the coldest Halloween on record. 

The warmest Halloween was a summer-like 84° back in 1950, while the coldest was 32° back in 1917. Halloween as also seen its share of wet weather, with the rainiest occurring in 1919 when 2.51" fell at the airport. And if you recall, it didn't take much in 2019 for Rockford to see its snowiest Halloween on record when 3.1" of snow fell and blanketed the area.   

Halloween Weekend:

Halloween this year will feature a few weather concerns, but it appears the steadiest rain will occur during the morning hours. As we head through the afternoon, rain chances are expected to gradually diminish, although a few lingering sprinkles cannot be ruled out as trick-or-treaters head door-to-door Saturday evening. While widespread rainfall is not anticipated, it may still be a good idea to keep the umbrella nearby just in case.