More rain ahead on windy, warm Wednesday
Big changes, including cold and snow, to follow
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - It’s been a cloudy December thus far, but it’s also been a remarkably mild one to this point in time.
Tuesday marked the ninth straight day with above normal temperatures in the Stateline, and a tenth such day is ahead of us Wednesday. In fact, Wednesday’s almost certain to be the warmest day we see for the rest of 2022.
Despite temperatures expected to reach the middle and upper 40s Wednesday, it’s hardly going to be the most pleasant day. First, we’ll be contending with gusty winds for most of the day, likely reaching well over 30 miles per hour for much of the day, subsiding only modestly during the evening hours.
On top of the breezy conditions expected, there’s to be an abundance of clouds and occasional showers aren’t out of the question at any point in time. With that said, rain-free hours are to be abundant, and any activity during the daytime hours would be rather light in nature.
Precipitation is likely to become more widespread during the evening hours Wednesday, with areas along and east of Interstate 39 likely to see the heaviest activity. Rain should wind down once we reach the midnight or shortly thereafter, though there’s at least some concern that snow may mix in, especially north of the Wisconsin border, before doing so.
Thursday, by most accounts, looks to be a quieter one, though our dynamic storm system’s impacts won’t be fully finished. There’s still going to be enough moisture around the area on the storm’s back side to support the development of occasional flurries and light snow showers. At this stage, we believe the threat for accumulation is quite low, but the thought of some spots getting up to a half inch of snow isn’t an unrealistic one.
Much colder air will be pulled into the Stateline behind the storm beginning on Friday, when temperatures will struggle to reach 30°. Even colder air’s to follow thereafter, with highs in the 20s expected Saturday through Thursday, and come next Friday, highs may be hard pressed to reach the middle teens!
There aren’t any big snows showing up in our longer range models, but with the amount of cold air place, any storm system that would impact the area would do so with snow, not rain nor a wintry mix as we’ve seen thus far.
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