We have gone from winter to summer in a matter of 36 hours! Yesterday morning our temps bottomed out in the low 30s with afternoon highs in the 60s. Today we started off in the 50s with highs that will eventually creep into the mid to upper 80s. We were talking about wind chills 48 hours ago, now the words “heat index” are in the forecast this afternoon with humidity bringing the feels like temps close to 90! The 80s will hang with us through the weekend and we could even see some summery storms roll on through this week as well. -Greg

Posted under heat wave, rain

Monday morning temperatures began their jump right above the freezing mark. By the time Tuesday afternoon rolls around, we will have lived through a rise of more than fifty degrees!

Thankfully for any of our farmers in the fields, the warmth will not come with showers and thunderstorms. That’s thanks to low levels of humidity. However, with time, showers and thunderstorms will become more widespread across the Upper Midwest.

On Wednesday, a cool front will stall across Central Illinois and Indiana, moving the “storm zone” south of our area. This is not a good set up for agriculture efforts downstate. But this stalled-out front will eventually move back to the north as a warm front…sparking a few thunderstorms in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin Friday and Saturday.

Then, we’ll be watching the progress of a low pressure system ejecting out of the Rockies. The Storm Prediction Center already has an area highlighted for Saturday in the Central Plains (Click here to read the technical discussion.) .

Posted under cold blast, heat wave, severe weather

We have now seen 12 out of 13 days this month where the Fahrenheit hasn’t reached our average high. As we look ahead to the next week, that trend looks to continue with highs in the 30s and occasionally low 40s. Last year on this exact same date we saw our first 80° temperature of the year, and the following week was equally as warm. Oh what a difference a year can make! -Greg

Posted under heat wave, statistics, winter weather

New information released today by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers states that Lake Michigan-Huron* water level has dipped to a new record low. Records date back to 1918. The old record of 576.05 feet was set in March of 1964. Current levels are 2 1/2 feet below the long-term average.

A warming climate and a lack of precipitation are to blame. 2012 was the warmest year on record for the Great Lakes states, contributing to increased evaporation. The significant drought which began in the winter of 2011/12 is also contributing as decreased precipitation doesn’t replenish the water that evaporates and/or flows into Lake Erie.

* Due to the fact that Lakes Michigan and Huron are at the same elevation, they are technically one large lake.

Read more from the Chicago Tribune here.

Posted under climate/climate change, heat wave, news, record weather

We will begin a slow warming process early this week that will leave us with highs in the mid to upper 40s by Friday and Saturday. This unseasonably warm weather will melt away all that is left of the snow from two and a half weeks ago, with no future snow in the 7 day forecast. We can thank a perfect combination of weather ingredients for our upcoming winter warm wave. The jetstream will retreat to the Canadian border allowing warm air to drift up toward the Stateline. Then low pressure over Texas and high pressure over the southeast coast will work together to pump gulf warmth straight into the Midwest. Starting tomorrow we could see 5 straight days at or above 40°. -Greg

Posted under First Look, heat wave, winter weather

Shortly after 1pm on December 3, 2012, thermometers rose to 69 degrees in Rockford.  This replaces the old record high of 65 degrees from 1970. What’s even more astonishing is the fact that Monday’s 69 degree reading was the warmest temperature EVER recorded in Rockford in December!  The previous warmest December temperature was 67 degrees set on December 5, 2001.

Monday’s temperatures were truly unprecedented!  Nearly all of northern Illinois had record breaking temperatures.  Many areas along the Interstate 88 corridor hit 70 degrees!

Posted under 13 Climate Authority, BBQ Alert, climate/climate change, heat wave, record weather, statistics, weather

Yesterday we saw temperatures break into the 60s across the Stateline, and our high in Rockford of 64° tied the record high set back in 1982. Today, we began on a very foggy note and have the possibility of showers and storms as the day wears on, yet we still have managed to already break the high temperature record on this date of 65° that was set back in 1970. Highs in the Dixon area have a chance at reaching as high as 70° by the time all is said and done. A reality check will set in by the weekend though with highs barely breaking 40°. -Greg

Posted under event, heat wave, news

This morning our temperatures were really in the ice box! The low in Rockford bottomed out at 11 degrees which is the coldest low temperature we have seen since way back on February 11th! The next several nights won’t be nearly as cold, as significant warm-up is poised to start on Thursday and launch into the weekend with well above average high temperatures that will once again climb back into the 50s. Last year we saw a very mild winter and 4 days in December that topped out above 50 degrees. By Monday we have a chance to rack up three December 50s.  -Greg

Posted under cold blast, heat wave

Wednesday’s projected high temperature may reach 90°. (Click image to enlarge.) And if that happens, it will likely be the last of that type of heat until May 2013. All guidance points to a cooler-than-normal end to September. By the first few days of October, 90° is about where the record highs are. (Click here to see the records for October.)

Are you sad to see the summer heat go or are you ready for the terribly hot ‘Summer 2012′ to end? Post a comment below! -Eric

Posted under heat wave, record weather, statistics

We have heard about many of the effects from this summer’s record heat, but there is one you may have noticed but not thought much about. The Midwest’s spider populations have been on the rise all summer long due to the intense heat. Spiders are cold-blooded so contrary to what you might think they reproduce more quickly and grow more quickly meaning that more generations of spiders can exist at once time, which has been the case this summer. Of course, just like us, spiders don’t enjoy the heat either so they do whatever they can to find their way into home and garages to cool down a bit. So if you have been thinking to yourself “there are a lot of spiders this summer!” but didn’t know if it was all in your head, well it isn’t! As long as temperatures stay up you can continue to expect to see more spiders than normally throughout the rest of the summer. -Greg

Posted under climate/climate change, event, heat wave, humor, wildlife