Monday afternoon weather update

A little clearing across northern Illinois is beginning to develop early this afternoon which has helped give temperatures a little boost back into the middle, even upper, 70s in a few locations.  While we've got a few quiet hours ahead of us we continue to track thunderstorms to the west in Iowa that will begin to edge their way closer to the Stateline later this afternoon.  The cloud cover and rain from earlier this morning has helped to stabilize the atmosphere across the immediate Stateline but as clouds continue to thin further west the atmosphere is beginning to destabilize as instability continues to build.  As a result, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for Whiteside County as well as for counties to the south and west until 7pm this evening.

Thunderstorms building in central Iowa will continue to follow the flow within the jet stream and slide east/northeast with thunderstorms developing here after 3pm.  A slight risk for severe weather remains for portions of north-central Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin with wind and hail being the primary threats.  Of course, with any thunderstorms that develop heavy rain will also become a concern as any additional rainfall will occur on an already saturated ground.  Rainfall totals over the past 24 hours have neared or topped an inch - not including the rain that fell over the weekend.  A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin through 7pm this evening.