Remembering Eric Nefstead

The First Warn Weather team lost a close friend and co-worker over the weekend. Eric Nefstead passed away on Saturday after a battle with cancer. Eric will be deeply missed by everyone at the station.

While weather was one of Eric's greatest passions, he had another love: His garden. We thought that would be the best way to honor him.

Please keep Eric's family in your prayers. For more about Eric's life and information about his memorial service this Saturday, click here.

Winds of change this morning - Also blowing around those leaves

A strong and deepening low pressure system north of the U.S/Canadia border has allowed southeast winds to increase across the Central Plains and Midwest.  Southerly winds will remain sustained around 15-20mph with gusts nearing 30mph.  Already Monday morning there have been a few wind gusts that have topped 30mph.  Winds will begin to subside later this evening but pick back up Tuesday ahead of a cold front.  Unfortunately, if you cleared your yard of those leaves this past weekend you'll likely need to do it again later this week.

The Only Forecast to Care About: Bears Vs. Packers

The Bears are traveling to Lambeau Field Monday night to take on the Packers at 7:40pm.  Temps are actually relatively mild for this time of year--which is not too bad considering I can think of plenty of times they've played in blinding snow!  There is a possibility of a rogue shower or two, however I don't think it'll impact the game too much and therefore we're only expecting a Low Weatherisk.  Temps slowly fall throughout the evening into the low to mid 40s with skies remaining mostly cloudy. - MT

A Friendly Reminder: Turn Back Your Clocks!

Daylight Saving Time ends tonight at 2am, so before you go to bed turn your clock back one hour.  Here are some pros and cons of entering into Standard Time.

 The biggest con is the fact that we'll see earlier sunsets.  Saturday evening, the sun set at 5:49pm but Sunday evening, we won't even make it to 5pm before seeing darkness. - MT

Saturday's Sunrise/Set

Sunday's Sunrise/Set

October Climate Recap

October was a normal one in terms of the climate. Here's a quick look at Rockford's temperature and precipitation stats for the past month:

H.S. Football Playoff Forecast

We've seen a few showers for our Friday, but the rain will have little impact on the start of the high school football playoffs.

Locally, there are two big games Friday night. The first is in Winnebago and the second is in Harvard. Both have 7:00pm start times. Winnebago should see dry weather for the entire game, while Harvard could see a lingering shower for kickoff before drying out the rest of the night. Temps will stay in the 40s for the entirety of both games.

The only other local team playing tonight is DeKalb. They are traveling to Batavia for their 7:00pm playoff matchup. Showers should stick around for the first half of that game before dry weather settles in for the second half.

Saturday is looking dry for any playoff games. However, it will be breezy and cool with no sunshine expected until late in the afternoon, so bundle up if you're heading out!

For a complete schedule of this weekend's high school football playoff action, click here.

Last couple days of October: Above average temperatures and rainfall

A strong autumn storm system not only brought a healthy amount of rain to the Midwest but it also brought with it a little warmth.  Temperatures Wednesday and Thursday topped out in the low 60s ahead of a strong cold front that will keep temperatures only in the 40s for today and Saturday.  Temperatures Thursday morning remained in the low 60s but once the front passed the mercury quickly dropped into the 50s and then 40s in the evening & overnight.  Temperatures this afternoon won't rise much past what we woke to this morning.

A total of 0.79" of rain fell on Halloween making it the 5th wettest Halloween on record for Rockford.  The two day rainfall total (Wednesday & Thursday) of 1.37" was the 3rd largest two day rainfall total on record for the end of October.  The largest end of October rainfall record was 2.53" set back in 1919.  Another strong storm system expected to move across the middle of the country next week has the potential to bring even more rain next Tuesday and Wednesday.