Temperatures soared well into the 40s and even lower 50s across the Quad Cities this afternoon, but now a powerful cold front is moving in that will make these warmer temperatures tumble overnight.
As of 5:30pm this evening a large spread of temperatures is located across the region raining from the teens in northeast Iowa to the 50s in central Illinois. Our high here in the Quad Cities reached a balmy 49 degrees. Once the cold front passes through we’ll see these values drop like a rock ending up in the single digits by Friday morning. Wind chills will be even lower with values of -10° at times.
What does all of this have to do with your house making noises? Remember when we were sent into the deep freeze last week? Even though temperatures are not nearly as cold tonight, the dramatic change will still cause our homes to make some loud noises.
Our homes contain several different materials that are very sensitive to temperature fluctuations, especially ones that occur in short periods of time. With our nearly 45 to 50-degree temperature swing in some locations moving in tonight, we will once again hear some loud bangs and cracks taking place within our homes.
Many screws and fasteners in our roofs and walls are particularly vulnerable to these changes in temperatures as they expand and contract in size. This change also causes other components attached to elements of your home to move a bit, which is why it can sound so loud at times. It may sound like someone is actually trying to break into your home at times. Others describe it as a loud cracking noise. Construction experts say this phenomenon is normal and is actually becoming more common as many parts of the country see extreme temperature swings.
Meteorologist Andrew Stutzke
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