7:00 AM | Arctic air filters in this weekend at the same time moisture rides up from the South; wintry mix possible by late Sunday

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly cloudy, mild, occasional light rain possible, highs near 60 degrees

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, cool, occasional rain, lows by morning in the upper 40’s

Friday

Mostly cloudy, cooler, rain likely, highs in the low 50’s during the morning hours and then temperatures should drop in the afternoon

Friday Night

Mostly cloudy, colder, rain likely, may end as a mix with sleet in the N and W suburbs, mid 30’s

Saturday

Becoming partly sunny, cold, near 40

Sunday

Mostly cloudy, cold, ice, snow and/or rain possible late in the day or at night, mid-to-upper 30’s

Monday

Mostly cloudy, cold, rain likely, mid-to-upper 40’s

Tuesday

Partly sunny, windy, cold, upper 30’s

Discussion

Very cold air has gripped the nation from California to Texas to the Great Lakes, but here in the East, mild air has made a return. In fact, today will be the mildest day of the week, but this warm up will be rather short-lived. After a day with highs near 60 degrees, a strong cold front will slide through the region by early tomorrow and reverse our temperature trend. In fact, temperatures may peak in the morning on Friday and then drop slowly during the afternoon hours. This gradual transition from mild-to-cold will be accompanied by periods of rain from tonight into tomorrow night. It could get just cold enough by late tomorrow night for the rain to end mixed with sleet in some of the northern and western suburbs before ending.

After a dry Saturday afternoon and evening, attention will turn to the Deep South as moisture will head our way from that part of the country at the same time strong Arctic high pressure settles in to our north. The end result could be a period of frozen precipitation in this area before a changeover to plain rain and then we’ll be looking to our northwest for the arrival of another very cold Arctic air mass on Tuesday.