Springfield receiving first taste of winter chill

Central Illinois' first blast of winter chill will give way to a soaking of rain later this week.

The National Weather Service in Lincoln forecast called for high temperatures Tuesday to hit 30 degrees, which would be the coldest in Springfield since March 18, when temperatures reached 32 degrees.

More seasonal temperatures are expected to return on Wednesday, but wet conditions will follow later in the week, with the NWS predicting a 37 percent chance of at least an inch of rain between Thursday and Friday.

A slight warmup is forecast for Thursday with the high expected to reach 48 degrees, with wind gusts up to 22 mph. Friday's high will be slightly lower, at 43 degrees, but wind gusts will stay upwards of 22 mph.

According to the NWS forecast, the impacts of the rain should be mild, particularly south of Springfield and the Interstate 72 corridor, where conditions recently have been drier. People should be on the lookout for localized pooling of water in urban areas and areas with leaf-clogged storm drains. Rivers and streams are also expected to rise.

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Wind a major factor in chilly weather

Springfield's wind chills reached 4 degrees Tuesday morning, although winds were only blowing from the northwest at 8 mph. Wind gusts had reached as high as 30 mph Monday afternoon, with wind chills barely peaking above 20 degrees.

The chilly Monday came after a frigid end of Thanksgiving weekend that saw the first snowfall of the season, albeit one coming in trace amounts.

Those wind gusts are expected to return into Wednesday, with 20 mph gusts in the offing for the overnight hours.

Wednesday should bring more seasonable conditions with high temperatures getting up to 47 degrees – considered the normal high for Nov. 29 in Springfield – although winds should still gust in the 20 mph range.

Sunny skies will persist, but cloud cover will increase going into Wednesday night with partly cloudy skies turning into mostly cloudy conditions on Thursday.

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Here are Springfield warming centers

The city of Springfield provides warming centers whenever conditions get cold to keep people safe.

Here are the city's official warming stations, provided by the Office of Community Relations:

Municipal Centers East and West (800 East Monroe Street and 300 South 7th Street): Open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Lincoln Library (326 South 7th Street): Open from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sundays from October-April.

Office of Community Relations (1450 Groth Street): Open from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Helping Hands North/Salvation Army Overflow Shelter (221 North 11th Street): Open from 5 p.m.-7 a.m. daily, with day services available each day from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Helping Hands South (1023 East Washington Street): Open from 5 p.m.-7 a.m. daily, with day services available each day from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Salvation Army Main Campus (1600 Clearlake Avenue): Open from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Washington Street Mission (408 North 4th Street): Day services are available from 12:30-4:30 p.m., with coffee and pastries available from 7:30-10:30 a.m. Monday-Friday. Breakfast is available from 8-10 a.m. on Saturdays. The mission is closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve.

St. John's Breadline (430 North 5th Street): Open for breakfast from 8-9 a.m. and lunch from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: First blast of cold temperatures heading into central Illinois