Tuesday Weather Update

Current check of the radar showing a band of moderate rain in Freeport and Pecatonica, and entering into Rockford. The rain today will be off and on through the afternoon and overnight hours as an approaching low pressure system gets closer to us. Moderate rain also entering the I-39 area near Rochelle, DeKalb, Amboy, Oregon, and Polo.

Zooming out more on the Satellite and radar you can see some clearing and breaks in the rain, before even more steady moderate to heavy rain moves in from the south. You'll want to keep the umbrellas handy as off and on steady rain, along with some periods of heavy rain, continue for the afternoon and overnight hours. The thunderstorm threat for us is very low, though you might hear a couple rumbles of thunder. Strong storms will be possible much further south of us, tied closer to the warm front where there is more moisture and instability.


 The heaviest axis of rain for our area will be areas west of Freeport, closer to the Mississippi River. This is where the upper level jet stream winds are steering the greatest lift and moisture. In this area, there is a better shot at reaching 2 inches of rain, while most of the Stateline will pick up about an inch.

The jet winds will track the low pressure system to the west of us, into Iowa and then Minnesota as the cold front passes the Stateline Tuesday into Wednesday. As the cold front pulls through, the rain will pick up again before starting to taper off through the day Wednesday day. Keep the umbrellas handy through Wednesday, we won't see as much rain, but showers will still be around. High temperatures will be reached early Wednesday, into the upper 50's and low 60's, before the cooler air arrives, and drops temperatures through the afternoon.

The breezy conditions will stick around through Thursday, it will be dry on Thursday but it will also be much cooler. Highs will be in the mid to low 40's, while high temperatures struggle to hit 40° on Friday. With another push of cold air moving in with our next low pressure system, it looks like we could get some snow for the Stateline. We'll have more updates on that potential coming up!