Mild temperatures to continue Tuesday, beyond

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - At long last, the sun triumphantly made its return to the Stateline for the first time in 2023 Monday. To say it was a sight for sore eyes would be a tremendous understatement after two full weeks of cloudy or mostly cloudy skies.

While clouds have returned to the area Monday night, we can guarantee our wait for the next date with sunshine won’t be nearly as long and exhausting. Clearing skies are already advancing through Iowa Monday evening, and many forecast models suggest that sun may shine here as early as mid-morning Tuesday.

We won’t be entirely sunny for the entire day, but quite a few hours of at least partial sunshine appear to be a good bet before thicker cloud cover returns late in the day and remains intact Tuesday night.

Clouds are to be much more dominant on Wednesday, and a sprinkle or light rain shower isn’t to be entirely ruled out in the afternoon. However, the expectation is that the vast majority of the day will be dry and pleasant despite the clouds.

Every one of January’s first nine days have been milder than normal, and there’s no evidence suggesting that streak’s in any danger of ending anytime soon. Temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday are to remain in the 40s, and while there will be a cooling trend Thursday and Friday, we should remain rather comfortably above normal by mid-January standards. Another gush of mild air is to arrive beginning this weekend, and will carry us well into next week.

The warmer than normal trend may have even more staying power beyond this weekend. In fact, longer-range projections continue to suggest that milder temperatures are to remain in place through at least January 23.

Those hoping for snow of any substance aren’t likely to be pleased to know that snow chances are few and far between in the coming week. If there’s to be a period during which we could potentially see some accumulating snow, it’d be on Thursday, though any accumulations that do occur would be quite minor.

With that said, it’s likely, if not certain that we’ll sink deeper into our seasonal snow drought. As of Monday, our seasonal deficit reached nearly nine inches, and it’s quite likely that deficit reaches double digits by week’s end.

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