With bitter cold temperatures expected this weekend, what are some of the things that you do to stay warm?

Post a comment and I will share some of your tips on 13News 10@10 tonight.

Thanks! -ERIC

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The coldest stretch in nearly a decade is in the works for the Upper Midwest this weekend. (While these temperatures are subject to some tweaking, afternoon temperatures will likely only be in the middle single digits with forecast wind chills near -30°F in some cases.

Now would be a great time to get the grocery shopping done, get the trash cans to the curb, and get Fido a new spot prepared in the mudroom. More on this winter blast to come. -ERIC

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January sure was an up and down month. We started the month off with rain and high temperatures more than twenty degrees above average. The high for January 4th and 5th was 51 degrees! That sure seems like a distant memory.

Our highs stayed above average until the halfway point of the month. Then we started racking up some colder days. All ten days with a high temperature in the 20s have occurred since December 16th. Then yesterday we tallied our first day where the high stayed in the teens.

How about the beginning of February? Let’s just say we may be racking up some highs on the bottom level of that graphic. Highs are forecasted to be in the single digits February 3rd – 5th.

-ADAM

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The high temperature in Rockford, Illinois on Tuesday was 18°F. However, once that big chunk of cold air in Northern Canada breaks loose Thursday, our temperatures will likely plunge below 0°! In fact, I am not anticipating the wind chill values to be above zero from Thursday night straight through Wednesday of next week. Use our NBC Weather Plus currents at the top-right corner of this page to calculate the wind chill values this weekend.

More on the blog in the coming days! -ERIC

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I want to say “Thank you!” to the faculty and children at St. Bridget’s School in Loves Park for letting me come and talk weather today. We had a great time talking about how hail is made within a thunderstorm, how lightning and thunder work, where Tornado alley is, and how tornado watches and warnings help keep us safe.

However, a young man by the name of Ronan (in the second grade) asked me a wonderful question that I wanted to pass along to you! He said “Why aren’t there weather disasters in Ireland like there are in the United States?”

To answer that, we have to look at how the ocean incluence. Take a look at this map! It shows the Atlantic Ocean’s currents…some warm and some cold. You can see that most of the eastern United States is influenced by the warm Gulf stream. However, much of Europe (and Ireland) have cold ocean water streaming by. This creates a cooler, less energized atmosphere than the eastern half of the United States. We have to keep in mind that the biggest of earth’s storms are created by the sun’s heat and energy. While Europe isn’t necessarily colder than the United States, it is more similar to the west coast of the United States. For instance, how often have you heard of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in Oregon or Washington state? The cold, Pacific Ocean keeps things in check over there.

Great question Ronan!

-ERIC

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No we aren’t talking about any floats or free candy, but there is a small parade in the atmosphere at this time. Last night we picked up just under an inch of snow across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. We are in a weather pattern where approximately every 36 hours we will have a chance for a little more snow. With the origination of these storms in northern Canada our snowfall totals from these storms will be fairly small. The Gulf of Mexico moisture continues to be blocked from us. Therefore, the most snow you can expect to see is a quick dusting of snow Wednesday night and then again on Friday. -ADAM

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There’s no doubt that most Rockfordians have been a little colder since this past weekend. Temperatures have been near zero during the mornings with highs around 20°. The cold river of air continues to flow overhead, straight out of Canada. However, by this weekend, things will be even colder. In fact, double-digit temperatures may be a rare sight by this weekend for much of the Upper Midwest.

This brand of cold air is nearly as cold as we were all last year! In fact, last winter’s coldest shot of air came for one day…February 18th, 2006 when the mercury only rose to 3°. The thing that makes the cold bad for this upcoming weekend is the fact that it will last for days! It doesn’t appear to warm up until at least Thursday February 9th! -ERIC

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When you work in TV news, you should never become part of the story, right? Well, a crew from Milwaukee’s CBS58 News thought they were turning onto an ice-covered road. Instead, they turned down a boat launch onto Lake Muskego! Luckily, no one was hurt. As the ice began to break, they abandoned the truck and got to shore.

But Unfortunate for CBS58, NBC4 has their story. Here it is for you: complete with video (thank goodness). -ERIC

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Tim Halbach from The National Weather Service in Chicago has posted the official Rockford climate data from 2006. What was the warmest temperature of the year? Did we break any records? Click here to find out. Interesting stuff! -ERIC

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Another weak clipper system will traverse the area during the evening on Monday. Some areas in Southern Minnesota added up 1-2 inches early in the day. While most of the snow will be blowing around, an inch (two on the high side) could fall. It won’t be anything we can’t handle however.

Another two clippers will bring more snow to the stateline this week. One coming in Wednesday night, the other Thursday night. Each could bring a fresh coating of snow…nothing too serious. -ERIC

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