Hot, Dry, and Breezy for the First Day of Summer

Switch to Summer:

Although we didn't see any rainfall, the last day of astronomical spring was indeed a warm one. Under beautiful sun-filled skies, highs for most soared back into the upper 80s. Expect more of the same as we make the seasonal switch to summer. 

Officially, the summer solstice occurs at 9:57AM. This is the point where the focus of the suns rays will be directly above the Tropic of Cancer. Hence why today is the longest day of the year for the northern hemisphere and the shortest day of the year for those who live in the southern hemisphere. All in all, we'll see just over 15 hours of daylight. In that time, the weather remains, sun-filled, dry and warm. 

In a similar fashion to Tuesday, the breeze that develops by the afternoon along with very dry air will pose for an elevated fire risk. Please, continue to avoid any outdoor burns! 

Another big thing to keep in mind if you have any outdoor plans is today's air quality. The combination of a little wildfire smoke and higher counts of surface ozone will result in unhealthy air quality for some. Especially in areas east and northeast of Rockford where air quality alerts are currently in place. Despite not having an alert here at home, we may still see these the impacts. Expect temperatures to once again climb into the upper 80s, with a few isolated spots briefly touching the low 90s. 

Remaining Warm:

Post-summer solstice, temperatures aim to remain above average for the remainder of the week, and even into the upcoming weekend. 

Highs once again will peak in the upper 80s Thursday afternoon, with our next pair of 90-degree days ticketed for Friday and Saturday. Saturday being the warmer day of the two thanks to enhanced flow coming out of the south and southwest. Once we get into Sunday, we are still looking at a decent chance for rain and even thunderstorms thanks to a cold front sliding in from the west. Overall, models were in disagreement on the timing of the front as well as the nature of Sunday's rain. However, chances may very well carry on into the beginning of next week.