Snowstorm or Bust?

Is it the story of our lives? I'm talking about the fact that the past few winters have seen piddly snows. As an old friend Scott Harbaugh used to say "It's the Rockford curse!"

This morning's computer models have abruptly changed the course of our next storm. Instead of a classic snowmaking track for us (Memphis to Detroit) the system looks to follow a line from Nashville to Syracuse. That's way too far away to spin back the needed moisture for a decent snowfall here.

Still, parts of Illinois will get hit by this system. First, Winter Storm Watches are out for much of Missouri for the threat of freezing rain Wednesday night into Thursday. Secondly, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a stripe of 2-4" snow from St. Louis to Champaign to Ft. Wayne through the day on Friday.

Unless the models change the course of this system (back to the location they were on Monday) we've got little/no accumulation on the horizon. There still could be some grassy areas that are covered up early Thursday morning in the Rockford area, but anything substantial will remain about 120 miles to the southeast.

9:26pm update- The evening models (evening NAM to the left) are coming in again...and guess what! While we're not in the best situation for snow, we're in a better spot for sleet! The main cold front will pass through RFD around noon Wednesday. Temperatures will slide through the 40s during the afternoon with 30s after 6pm. It's at this time that we could see some sleet and snow thrown into the mix. Will there be any accumulation? Probably not here, but it appears a little closer now. Good thing this system is only 36 hours away. My head can't take any more banging on the wall! -ERIC