Mild temperature trend to continue Tuesday

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - After a sunny, seasonably chilly weekend in the Stateline, things have turned slightly milder, albeit more cloudy to start the new workweek.

Unfortunately, we’re not to see much of the sun in the coming days, as our weather pattern is set to take a turn for the more active. A mostly cloudy sky Monday night is to carry over into Tuesday, and a weak disturbance may trigger a few brief, scattered rain or snow showers from late Tuesday morning through mid to late afternoon. Temperatures are likely to top out in very similar, if not identical territory to Monday, with highs in the lower 40s.

Skies may clear a bit Tuesday evening, though full clearing is not anticipated.

Clouds are to dominate for a third straight day Wednesday, and the consistent temperature trend is to continue. Should there be peeks of sunshine at times, which is entirely possible, temperatures are to reach the middle 40s. A few snow flurries are possible Wednesday evening, though once again, no travel impacts are anticipated.

While precipitation chances Tuesday and Wednesday are quite small, a stronger, more dynamic system appears increasingly likely to impact the region late Thursday into Friday.

At this stage in the game, there are more questions than answers regarding the storm’s evolution and local impacts. The current thinking is that we’d see rain be the primary form of precipitation at first, eventually mixing with and potentially changing over to snow late Thursday night into early Friday. Just when that transition occurs, if at all, will determine how much, if any snowfall accumulation would occur. More clarity will come in the next day or two.

The pattern looks to remain active well into next week, and perhaps beyond. Longer range projections suggest there are daily chances for rain or snow Sunday through Wednesday next week. Overall, the Climate Prediction Center highlights our area as being one extremely likely to have above normal precipitation through mid-December.

That means more snow, right? Well, the answer to that question is “maybe”. It could very well mean more snow, but it also could very well mean more rain. Temperatures will be critical in determining the form of precipitation we see. With milder than normal temperatures expected to be the norm through mid month, it’s far from guaranteed we’ll be shoveling. It’s also entirely possible that we’ll need our shovels on more than one occasion. Only time will tell!

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