A big fall in temperatures today! High temperatures have already been reached this morning as we see rapidly falling temperatures to our west. Temperatures have falling into the single digits and teens to our west in Illinois. A very tight pressure gradient will cause the gusty winds to continue through out the day and into this evening. Here is a look at what's going on right now:

I want you to look at two things here. One is the low pressure and the lines around it called isobars. See how close they are together? That tells us that we are going to see gusty winds across the area today. The other thing is that bright red color across the plains. This low pressure has opened the gateway to the arctic circle and we have the core of the coldest air being felt over the plains this afternoon. Temperatures will fall well below zero through tomorrow.

Tuesday Storm System: Watch this storm system across the south it is moving rapidly towards us and will be here on Tuesday night.

Here is Wednesday morning. As the storm comes in Tuesday night we could see the mid levels of the atmosphere warm up while the surface stays at freezing. This is what freezing rain is all about as liquid sticks to an already frozen surface.



The rest of the week.
Highs will actually be around normal through Thursday with another storm coming our way on Friday. This is where is begins to get interesting.

Another southern weather system comes into the picture. It looks like rain and temperatures in the upper 40s again but we will see a drop by late afternoon. (Much like today).

Sunday looks very interesting as the cold air which will spend the week in the plains will finally make it way toward our area. Temperatures will only be in the 20s through the afternoon.