Storm Threat Returns By the End of the Week

Warm but quiet weather will remain through the majority of the week but the pattern turns active by early Friday.

Humidity begins to increase Thursday with southerly winds drawing a warmer and more humid air mass north into northern Illinois. An incoming cold front Friday morning will allow for another warm day Friday as warm air lifts north ahead of it, but as our upper level winds turn more zonal (flowing from west to east) the front cold will stall as it moves parallel to these winds. Right now this boundary looks to stall near northern Illinois, which put us in an area that will get several chances for showers and storms.

Several disturbances will pass along the boundary Friday afternoon through Sunday. Available moisture levels climb to near 2" and
instability builds. As the waves pass over the boundary, it will develop scattered showers and storms. So the placement of the boundary this weekend will be key in determining who gets the most rain this weekend. It doesn't look to be a total wash out, but there will be several periods of scattered storms through the weekend. The atmosphere tries to dry out Sunday, which could help make it a drier day, with more isolated storms possible.

But we are still several days out, so the position of where the stationary boundary lines up could change. We'll make sure to keep you updated though as we get closer to the weekend.