A Soaker is on the Way...

A low pressure system is passing well to the north of the Stateline this evening. That's where most of the precipitation is occurring. It will drag a cool front through the area, but only scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms are expected overnight. The front will stall out just to our south by early on Thursday morning as low pressure rides along the front from the west into the area. It will be cooler with Rockford on the north side of the front on Thursday with an east to southeast wind. The low will help draw moisture from the south up and over the front generating numerous rain showers. There may even be a couple of thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening.  A soaking rain will continue overnight on Thursday night.  Showers will linger into Friday morning, and it will be mostly cloudy and cool with afternoon high temperatures only in the low 50's.  The low pressure will move off to the east as high pressure ridges in from the north.  It will be partly cloudy in the evening, but clear overnight allowing temperatures to drop into the middle 30's.  A major storm system will develop along the east coast this weekend.  The net effect on the Stateline will be to hold the ridge of high pressure in place from Quebec southwest across Lake Superior, Minnesota, to the southern plains.  It will be mostly sunny and cool for the weekend with highs in the middle 50's on Saturday, and the upper 50's on Sunday.  Lows will be in the 30's.  The ridge will move little into the early part of next week, but temperatures associated with it will slowly moderate.  The next system moving across the northern plains on Tuesday will finally kick the ridge off to the east by Wednesday, and proceed into the mid west on Wednesday.  It will warm close to 70 degrees, and there could be some scattered thunderstorms.