Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Heavy downpours possible Wednesday and late this week

We've had a few isolated thunderstorms pop up in Northwest Illinois, but just as quickly as they develop they begin to fade away.  All of this is ahead of a cold front extending from low pressure in the Upper Midwest.  There, stronger thunderstorms have been occurring but as the cold front shifts south tonight, it will lose some of it's strength.

By Wednesday morning, the front will be near the Wisconsin/Illinois border and become the
focus for thunderstorms to redevelop along during the day.  Right now, it looks like the front should be just enough to the south to keep our skies dry.  But, if you live near Highway 38 and south, you could be dealing with some rain.  And heavy rain it could be.  Moisture from the Gulf will shift north running into the cold front.  This will cause the moisture to 'pool', or collect, near the front.  As thunderstorms develop, they will have ample moisture in the atmosphere which will likely lead to heavy rain.

By Thursday evening, that front will pull back north as a warm front bringing not only moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, but also moisture from what's left of what was once Hurricane Blanca in the Pacific.  It's usually this time of year and into July that we begin to experience the heavy rain threat as moisture builds in the atmosphere.  Expect that to be the general trend as we head into next week as well.

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