Looking for something fun to do this weekend

Since the weather will be a little on the chilly side this weekend, there may be a few events that would be worth checking out!  Saturday, the 8th, head on out to the Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden from 9:00 - 10:30 am and meet with local bird expert Dan Williams who will lead a winter bird walk.  He will identify the many birds that visit the arboretum each winter.  After the walk he will discuss what type of vegetation attracts the birds to the Klehm.
Price is $10 per person and $5 for members.  You do need to register so go to http://www.klehm.org/ or call the office at 815-965-8146.  Class size is limited to 12 participants.

Sunday the Harlem Globetrotters will be making a stop at the Rockford MetroCentre as they celebrate their 85th consecutive season.  Game starts at 2pm and tickets have already gone on sale.  The price starts at $21.50 and can be purchased at http://www.metrocentre.com/, the MetroCentre box office, or by phone: 815-968-5222.

For more information on communtiy events this weekend click here.

We made the top 10!

According to the Online Wall Street Journal:
CareerCast rated 200 jobs based on income, working environment, stress, physical demands and job outlook, using data from the Labor Department and U.S. Census and researchers' own expertise.  The jobs were ranked highest to lowest with their midlevel income....and look what came in as #6 --- Meteorologist!  However, looking at the midlevel income listed I'm not sure they are referring to a TV meteorologist!  ;)

1    software engineer   
2    mathematician        
3    actuary                  
4    statistician         
5    computer systems analyst
6    METEOROLOGIST        
7    biologist                 
8    historian                 
9    audiologist              
10  dental hygenist   

Others listed... Astronomer #22, advertising salesperson #170, photojournalist #185 and reporter (newspaper) #188

Click here for a complete view of this list!

Flood Advisory due to Ice Jam on Rock River

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A FLOOD
ADVISORY FOR THE ROCK RIVER..

ROCK RIVER AT LATHAM PARK AFFECTING WINNEBAGO COUNTY

AN ICE JAM WITH MINOR FLOODING WAS REPORTED IN MACHESNEY PARK
ALONG SHORE DRIVE. ICE JAMS CAN RESULT IN RAPID FLUCTUATIONS IN
WATER LEVELS WITH LITTLE OR NO WARNING.

RIVER LEVELS MAY FLUCTUATE RAPIDLY DUE TO ICE WITH
LITTLE OR NO WARNING. RESIDENTS IN LOW LYING FLOOD PRONE AREAS
SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR POSSIBLE FLOODING DUE TO ICE JAMS. IF
YOU ENCOUNTER A FLOODED ROADWAY...TURN AROUND AND FIND AN ALTERNATE
ROUTE.

250 PM CST WED JAN 5 2011
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD ADVISORY FOR
THE ROCK RIVER AT LATHAM PARK.

* UNTIL THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
* AT 215 PM WEDNESDAY THE STAGE WAS 7.3 FEET.
* BANKFULL STAGE IS 9.0 FEET.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 10.0 FEET.
* FORECAST...RIVER LEVELS MAY FLUCTUATE RAPIDLY DUE TO ICE
   WITH LITTLE OR NO WARNING.

January Chill

It's here and I think it's here to stay...the chilly weather that is.  But hey, that's to be expected for this time of year, right?  The atmosphere is going to start to see a change within the next week or so as the Arctic Oscillation is forecast to fall below the neutral state towards the middle of January.  The Arctic Oscillation refers to opposing atmospheric pressure patterns in the northern middle and high latitudes.  So typically when we start to see it go into the negative phase the jetstream will move further south which allows colder air to push deeper into the southern States.  This appears to be the pattern we could get into over the next couple of weeks.

Although it wasn't visible from the Stateline, an event that made national and world news today is a partial solar eclipse that was visible over much of the eastern hemisphere. It was visible at about 2:51am CST, or 8:51am universal time for people in Western Asia, Europe, and parts of Africa.

Time for a little Feedback

You may have noticed we've changed a few things around on the blog.  What do you think?  Do you like it?  Is it too much?  Also, now that we're heading into 2011 we want to hear from you.  As we start the new year off, is there anything that you would like to see more or less of?  Do you find the information we put on the blog, as well as our weathercasts, as informative and helpful?  I know before when asked this question there were a few who would have liked to see a chat during active weather...and we're working on that!!  But is there anything else that we might be able to improve on?  Let us know!!

Light Snow Chances...but Continued Cold

High pressure will be the dominating weather factor later this afternoon but another clipper system will quickly move in Wednesday bringing another chance for a few light snow showers.  As this passes to our east Thursday it will get caught up in the trough (or upper level low) that will continue to move through the northeast and eastern Canada.  A building high pressure system over Greenland the next couple of days will not allow the trough to make much progress eastward.  This will cause the low to actually move west into Canada reinforcing the colder air over much of the Midwest and Great Lakes.  Rotating along the edges of the low will be little disturbances that will bring the possibility of light snow Thursday and Friday. 

Once the high over Greenland starts to break down we might see a quick pattern change into early next week before it turns cold again towards to the middle to end of the work week.