Cold Weather Will Be Here for a While

Print

Published on December 6 2017 10:43 am
Last Updated on December 6 2017 10:43 am

BY JIM TAYLOR

Illinois’ warmer-than-average weather has ended, and temperatures will dive – and remain – below normal, said meteorologist Dan Hicks with Freese-Notis Weather.

“Once we’ve turned the corner with colder temperatures returning, it looks like that could be a fairly long-term pattern in the next couple of weeks,” Hicks told the RFD Radio Network®. “We’ve got high pressure aloft, which is building up over the western part of the country and western Canada and deep low pressure developing over eastern Canada down toward the Great Lakes.”

That results in a northwesterly flow, which opens up a path for colder air to come down into the U.S.

“And that can be a fairly stable pattern during the winter time, and it looks like that’s going to continue for the time being,” Hicks said.

He anticipates the Midwest will continue to experience cold air masses over the next two weeks, which will result in daytime highs in the 20s and 30s.

“Certainly very unlikely we’ll see anything as warm as the past couple of weeks,” Hicks said. “It’s not going to be anywhere near record cold, but certainly below normal for this time of year.”

Normal highs at this time of year in Illinois are in the mid- to upper 30s in the northern part of the state and mid-40s in southern Illinois.