Warm & Windy Wednesday, Late Week Rainfall Update

We have had a stretch of beautiful weather the past few days as high pressure had settled over the region. This morning, we started out mostly clear, but that high pressure system has moved  off towards the Mid-Atlantic allowing some clouds to make their way in.

Now, our focus turns to a warm front that is draped over the upper Midwest. As we head into this afternoon, a low pressure will pull this warm front across Minnesota, southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

This will allow temperatures to warm up into the upper 50's and we could even see some spots push the low 60's for highs across the Stateline. Temperatures already have warmed up into the upper 40's with Galena reporting 50°.


Along with the warm temperatures, winds will also ramp up this afternoon. The tight pressure gradient associated with the warm front and the low pressure system will result in wind gusts pushing 25 to 30 mph. We expect winds to strengthen after noontime today with the highest wind gusts happening between 2 and 6 PM.


Next in line is a cold front that is set to move through the region early tomorrow morning. We could see a few showers pop up ahead of this front. But as this frontal boundary sinks to the south, it will begin to stall out somewhere in central Illinois. Once it does, it will pull an abundant amount of moisture from the south which will lead to rain, heavy at times on Friday.

Forecast models are a little bit more south with the heaviest rainfall totals. Overall, still could see between .50" - 1.5" here in the Stateline. Higher rainfall totals up to 2" will be towards the south. With how dry we have been the past week, river levels have improved significantly along the Rock & Pecatonica Rivers. This additional rainfall could cause an uptick in river levels as well as some localized flooding.

BASEBALL SEASON BEGINS TOMORROW!






White Sox Forecast:
It looks like it's going to be a wet start to the season for the Chicago White Sox! They open up the season against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Game time is at 3:15 PM! Hopefully we can get this game in, but with rain in the forecast, there is a good possibility of it being postponed.

 
Chicago Cubs Forecast:
The Cubs take a trip down to Arlington, TX for their season open. They take on the Texas Rangers at 3:05 PM. Looks like a beautiful day for some baseball with temperatures at 75° with breezy conditions!