Soaking rain to start the week off on a chilly note

 It's been a while since much of the Stateline has seen meaningful rainfall. The monthly rainfall through Sunday amounts to just shy of an inch at the Rockford airport, well over an inch below average through today's date. Much of that monthly total came between May 1st-2nd, with only 0.13" of additional rain in more than the last two weeks.

We will have our next shot at some meaningful, if not soaking, rainfall early this week. Decaying showers will bring an increase in cloud cover Sunday night into Monday, with a slim chance of a few light showers through the daytime of Monday.

More widespread rain arrives with better forcing Tuesday morning. This steady to even heavy rainfall could last from early morning into the mid-afternoon before rainfall rates ease up a but after 2-3PM. At their highest, rainfall rates may approach more than a tenth of an inch per hour. At least the early half of Tuesday looks very wet and cool, with temperatures likely hugging the upper 40s to low 50s as rain comes down.

Even though the steadiest rain will lift North for the afternoon, there is a slim chance for a few thunderstorms embedded within the strongest showers. This would be primarily South of I-80 Tuesday. Additional showers may linger around through at least the first half of Wednesday before drier air works in for the evening.

In total, we look to close our rainfall gap in a big way. Some parts of the Stateline could receive between around an inch to inch and a half of rain, with some locally higher amounts. We should not have to worry about flooding given how dry the soils are lately, but there could be ponding on roadways within the heaviest rain showers.

With the widespread rain on the way, it will keep us feeling quite chilly, especially Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons when high temperatures will not rise out of the 50s either day. Overnights won't see a huge drop from the daytime highs with added moisture and cloud cover, but we still may end up in the low 40s a few nights. Temperatures look to remain below average at least the rest of the week!