High temperatures Saturday afternoon reached into the 80s very early in the day, even before an initial line of showers and a few storms came through. This marked the 4th day in a row that Rockford reached the 80°-mark!

Unfortunately, that warmth stops there with a cold snap that starts tomorrow after the cold front that brought Saturday evening’s storms also brings much colder temperatures. Tomorrow’s high will be reached very early on, as afternoon temperatures will be closer to the 40s and even 30s!

Scattered rain showers stick with us throughout Sunday, but as cold air wraps in, rain looks to switch over to snow later in the evening. Snow could begin mixing in with rain by the afternoon, with mostly snow falling by nighttime.

Some locations could see that transition take place a bit quicker, so their potential snow totals might be a bit higher. This is where a Winter Storm Watch and Winter Weather Advisory are currently in effect for. The Advisory covers Jo Daviess, Stephenson, and Carroll Counties and lasts from 12PM Sunday until 7AM Monday. Here is where around a few inches of snow accumulation is likely. Other areas North of I-88 could also still see some minor slushy accumulations of up to a few inches.

The cold air also means Freeze Alerts are back since the growing season has begun in Northern Illinois. A Freeze Watch goes into effect at 10PM Sunday evening and lasts until 10AM Monday morning. Temperatures look to fall below freezing during this time, leading to dangerous conditions for any plants or crops that have been planted yet.

In addition to the cold, winds will also be very gusty Sunday into Monday. A Wind Advisory has been issued for Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Carroll, and Whiteside Counties. For Whiteside County, the Advisory goes into effect at 12PM Sunday and lasts until 7PM Monday. For the other 3 counties, the Advisory starts at 7AM Monday and lasts until 7PM Monday. Winds could gust up to 50 mph during these times.

The cold and blustery conditions do not last long, as we begin warming back up Tuesday and Wednesday reaching the 50s and 60s for most of the week ahead. We have more rain and storm chances Wednesday into Thursday before temperatures fall again into next weekend.