Lake enhanced cloud cover and snow flurries

It doesn't happen a lot, but every once and a while the big 'ole lake to our east (Lake Michigan) does have an effect on our weather locally.  And that's exactly what we're seeing this morning.  Very strong high pressure in Wisconsin is leaving nothing but clear skies from the upper Midwest where temperatures have fallen as low as -30° in Wisconsin!  However, lake enhanced cloud cover hugs the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin and as far west as the Mississippi River in Illinois!  Underneath those clouds, light snow has been falling for the past several hours and will continue to do so through mid-morning.  Accumulating snow isn't expected, but a light dusting on cars is possible.  And as the wind gradually shifts around to the southeast through the day, the cloud cover will begin to break apart during the afternoon.  Temperatures will slowly rise into the middle and upper teens today, but then drop quickly once the sun sets tonight.

Cold weather last week fades away to the 30's late this week

It's only the 12th of January, but so far monthly temperatures are almost ten degrees below the monthly average for the month. 

After a near average start to the month, temperatures really took a hit last week when highs struggled to get out of the low single digits for most of the week.  This also came with snow & wind only aiding in the brutal cold.  And while it will be a cooler start to the work week this week, winds shifting around to the south will allow a little more mild air to invade the Plains and Midwest.  This will give temperatures a boost back into the low, and even middle, 30's by the start of the weekend.  Now, if you're looking for more cold to move back in, it doesn't look like we'll be seeing a return of the cold like we did last week any time soon.

A Little Snow for Sunday

UPDATE: Bands of moderate to sometimes heavy snow continues to fall along and just north of the I-88 corridor. In more heavy bands, visibility can be greatly lowered so make sure to use caution, and leave a more time if you are heading out this evening, especially if you are heading out along I-88, or north on 39 to I-90 just south of Rockford. Heavier bands are now located more to the south east, as the snowfall track shifts to the south east. So far DeKalb picked up an inch in a two hour period of time, with Lincoln Highway now snow covered.



After a week full of chilly arctic air and snow, we finish it with a little more snow for the Stateline. Winds from the south brought us warmer air for Sunday afternoon, but also a decent amount of moist air. With the influx of the moist air and the lift from a cold front that is knocking on our doorstep to the west, this has allowed snow to develop for parts of the Stateline.  The majority of the snow will fall closer to Chicago, where there could see up to 3 inches and locally more, the southern parts of the Stateline could see about an inch. Mainly along a line following the I-88 corridor, and also then east of I-90 is where that snow fall will accumulate to about an inch. Looking farther north towards Rockford, we could see a dusting here, and southern Wisconsin not picking up any. The snow will linger through about midnight tonight and then once the cold front passes to the south, winds will shift to the north. The north winds will cut off the snow fall, and will also bring colder temperatures to the area for the beginning of the work week. Temperatures will stay in the upper teens with wind chill values near 0°. The good news is, if you aren't a fan of the cold, is that we will continue to warm up through the week. Temperatures will become more seasonable by the end of the week and weekend, with also a lot of sun through the week.

Frost Quakes In The Stateline?

Earlier this week, we received an e-mail from a viewer who kept hearing loud booming noises outside her house. She assumed it was weather related and asked us to investigate. After asking around on social media, we discovered that more than a few people were hearing these mysterious booms.

The cold might actually explain what is happening. Last winter, you might remember we experienced what we call a cryoseism, better known as a frost quake. It sounds like we're dealing with the same phenomenon this week.

Here's a quick explainer. When temperatures rapidly fall below freezing and stay there, water in the ground freezes and expands. That causes the ground to crack and produces the loud booms or small explosions that we call frost quakes.

Cryoseisms are usually a rare occurrence in the Stateline, but if you hear a loud boom tonight, this could help explain what is happening. -BA

Windy & Cold Weather Continue For Friday

It's been a long week of weather, and we're not done yet. You can blame the wind for any problems we have on Friday.

Roads look to remain messy overnight Thursday with winds gusting up to 40mph. The worst of any blowing and drifting will be on north-south roads.

 

Wind chills will dip into the -20° to -30° range by Friday morning. The National Weather Service has reissued a Wind Chill Advisory for the entire Stateline through the morning hours.

 

The rest of Friday doesn't look great, either. Highs will struggle to get above 0° with blustery winds keeping wind chills in the -15° to -20° range. Friday night lows will fall well below 0° before we finally warm up for the weekend.

Thursday snow update

Here are a few photos taken from around the area as the snow was coming down:

Danny Cornett
Belvidere

Deb Tillis
Freeport

Jose Puddintain

Near whiteout conditions will be very common as the snow comes down, especially in the open areas.  We've got zero visibility on our SkyCam in downtown Rockford.

The Winter Weather Advisory continues until 9pm this evening.



Winds continue to gust in from the south around 30-35 mph.  Heavier bursts of snow have caused visibility to drop near a quarter mile in some locations with near whiteout conditions in open areas.  First Warn Weather Watcher Beth in Shannon, IL reported heavy snow with zero visibility around 12:30pm.  Again, snow totals are not going to be much, between 1" to 3", but the wind will keep the blowing snow threat going into the evening. 

12:10pm: Visibility down to about a quarter to half a mile in many locations in N. IL and S. WI.  Heaviest of the snow is south of Rockford, but the south winds gusting near 30 mph makes it tough to travel & see on the roads.

















Update:  Getting some reports of where the snow is currently falling, it's falling fairly heavy reducing visibility.  Reports coming in from Freeport, to Pearl City and out towards Shannon. 


A fast moving, but fairly strong, clipper has already brought snow in Wisconsin and Illinois and will continue to do so through the afternoon and evening.

A Winter Weather Advisory will go into effect at Noon today for Rock & Walworth counties in southern Wisconsin, and for Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Ogle, Lee and DeKalb counties in northern Illinois.

The snow has already started to fall, and with an increasing wind from the southwest gusting to 30 mph, the visibility has dropped to half a mile in a few locations.  Snowfall amounts will range anywhere from 1" to 3", with higher amounts found near the state line.  So, while it's not a major snow event, the increasing wind - as Brandon Arnold discussed in a previous post - has and will continue to cause some problems on the roads.  The snow will be very fluffy which will allow it to blow around fairly quickly and with such cold temperatures at the surface, roadways will quickly become snow covered and slick into the afternoon.  The snow and wind will continue through the evening with skies clearing by Friday.

Thursday morning lows

Clear skies overnight Wednesday caused temperatures to fall pretty quick, but incoming cloud cover actually helped the temperature rise by daybreak Thursday.  Either way you look at it, though, it was cold!  Wind chills fell as low as -30° in some locations reaching dangerous levels if unprepared while outside.

Low temperatures bottomed out below -10° in many locations this morning.  Southwest winds will allow temperatures to rise above zero this afternoon, but an increasing wind will keep wind chills today near -20°.  Two more nights with these bitter cold temperatures before we see a return of the 20's by next week.  You can do it!