May Returns from Vacation

As you were sleeping last night, round 2 moved through the region. This round brought not only heavy rain to the Stateline, but also a lot of lightning. Overall, Rockford received .67" of rain and that just adds on to the wet and chilly May we are having. In total, the Rockford International Airport has recorded 3.77" of rain during the month of May which is just over an inch above average.


The good news is, we are going to have a short break from the rain as we now enter the what is known as the dry slot of the low pressure system. This is the part of the storm system where dry air feeds into the center of circulation. Although we are starting out the day with some lingering cloud cover, clouds will be on the decrease leading a much drier afternoon.


Now only that, a warm front which is draped over Central Illinois this morning will lift northward bringing in much warmer air to the region. In fact, we are jumping from our chilly high of 56° from yesterday to near 80° this afternoon. A huge temperature jump in just 24 hours. But i think it is safe to say that May has returned from it's little vacation.

 Yesterday’s wind will continue to be a part of today’s forecast. This time, instead of those chilly easterly winds, the gusty breezes will be out of the southwest. Which will also help us warm up to much more May-like temperatures today. Winds this afternoon could gust as high as 35 MPH, making travel along east-to-west roads, especially for high profile vehicles and semis.

As we head into the late evening and overnight hours, a cold front will approach the region giving us a chance for scattered thunderstorms. And as of this morning, the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK had placed the entire viewing area under a marginal risk (1 out of 5) for severe thunderstorms.  The primary threats with line of storms that moves in around midnight will be gusty winds, and some small sized hail with the stronger thunderstorms.