Spring on Thursday, winter on Friday. That's how forecasters are describing the temperature swing that will, once again, leave Illinois in the ice box.
Most folks across the state saw near record warmth to close out Wednesday and start the day Thursday.
By the end of the day Friday, the state will see temperatures 20 degrees below normal.
National Weather Service meteorologist Chuck Schaffer said pretty much the entire state will drop from highs in the 50s and 60s.
"We're going from high temperatures running from 25 degrees, to in some cases 30 degrees, above normal," Schaffer said. "Then we'll have a strong cold front coming through. And we'll see a very quick temperature drop, through the 30s and into the 20s."
Normal January temperatures for most of Illinois are in the 30s during the day and 20s at night.
Schaffer said Illinois will essentially change seasons Thursday night and into Friday morning. The drop begin this afternoon in northern Illinois.
"Illinois is basically going from springtime temperatures to the heart of winter in a few hours," Schaffer said.
Schaffer says the quick return to winter will mean a bit of ice or slush or snow for almost all of the state. A winter weather advisory is in effect from the Wisconsin border to just north of I-64 in southern Illinois from Thursday afternoon until early Friday morning.
The Weather Service says southeastern Illinois could see the worst of the snow. Folks from Salem to the southern tip of the state are looking at a winter storm watch that starts Thursday night and ends sometime Friday morning.
