Sunday, April 15, 2012

Beneficial Rains... No Severe Weather!

Heavy rainfall was recorded at the Rockford airport on Saturday night.  With the additional rainfall that occurred on Sunday, a new record was set for April 15th of 2.26".   Beneficial rains of 1" to more than 2" soaked most of the Stateline during the past 24 hours.  Prior to this rainfall event, April was extremely dry with only 0.14" of rain reported up until this weekend.  There was some localized urban flooding, with flooding in Aldeen Park in Rockford, but no serious damage was reported.

An intense area of low pressure is spinning over southwestern Minnesota  late this evening.  A cool front is arching out in front of the low across central Wisconsin , and then southward across the Stateline, the southern tip of Illinois to the Texas gulf coast. Heavier rains have moved off to he northeast. It will be windy overnight, and there could still be a few scattered showers overnight that will last through the mid day hours on Monday. It will be windy overnight and Monday with winds gusting to 35 mph... first from the southwest, switching to the west by mid day Monday, and then the northwest by later Monday afternoon.  Daytime temperatures will hold in the 50's.  On Monday night a little bubble high from southern Canada will move from Minnesota across Wisconsin clearing skies, diminishing winds, and dropping temperatures into the middle 30's.  That will be cold enough for areas of frost after midnight.  The high will shift to Michigan on Tuesday, skies will be mostly sunny, and afternoon temperatures will warm close to 60 degrees in the afternoon.  Clouds will increase on Tuesday night as a pair of weather systems come together over the northern plains.  By Wednesday morning there will be  a low near Sioux Falls, South Dakota with a warm front draped to the southeast across Iowa into western Illinois.  It will be mostly cloudy on Wednesday with rain showers likely again.  There could be some widely scattered thunderstorms, too.  Showers may persist into Wednesday night.  Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms will be possible on Thursday with the front stalling out across central Illinois.  High temperatures will be cooler... around 58 degrees.  It will be cooler yet on Friday under mostly cloudy skies with a northeast wind.  With the front lying across southern Illinois there will still be a chance of light rain.  The system will move off to the east, and high pressure will start to take control on Saturday.  It will be partly cloudy and cool with a high in the middle 50's.  Sunday will be mostly sunny, and the high will be 55 to 60 degrees.

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