3/2 Illinois Weather 6 AM: Winter Weather Advisory

Good morning. Illinois. I'm Aaron Jolly. Folks, grab that coffee and listen up. High pressure parked near Lake Ontario is doing us a favor today. It's pushing that messy system from yesterday out the door and rolling in clear skies behind it. That's your story in a nutshell. One good dry day before things get interesting. In the next 24 hours. Right now you're stepping into 27 degrees under stars. Northern Illinois bottomed out at 19 overnight. Central Illinois? You dealt with that ugly mix of snow, sleet. and freezing rain. but that's done. Gone. Moving east as we speak. Now the sunshine. Up north, you're climbing to 44 degrees today under brilliant blue sky. Chicagoland stays a touch cooler at 39 degrees, but just as sunny. Head down toward Springfield and central Illinois hangs around 43 degrees with stubborn clouds still clearing out from last night's mess. Tonight those clouds creep back in. Lows settle near 28 degrees around Chicago, 31 degrees up north. and a milder 37 degrees in central Illinois. After 3 A.M., a slight chance of rain sneaks in statewide. That's the first hint of what's coming. Tuesday flips the script entirely. A warm front slides north and opens the Gulf moisture pipeline. Central Illinois sees showers and thunderstorms with highs near 53 degrees. Chicago and northern Illinois stay cooler. Upper 30s to low 40s with scattered rain. Looking ahead, this week brings a dramatic pattern change. Beneficial rain stacks up through midweek. We're talking potentially two inches or more across central and southern Illinois. Strong thunderstorms possible Wednesday. Then Friday. Central Illinois could touch 75 degrees. Let that sink in. Saturday a cold front knocks us back to the 60s with clearing skies. Spring equinox is 18 days out. We're gaining nearly three minutes of daylight every single day. Today's your dry window. Use it wisely. For the extended outlook, check the latest forecast as confidence improves. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.