After an Active Week, Sunshine Returns to Start Off the Weekend

Ahead of an approaching cold front, thunderstorms producing widespread heavy rainfall and flash flooding pushed through overnight. The sound of loud lightning could have either kept  you up last night, or woke you up a few times. The good news is, the rain has pushed east. In other words, the flash flood threat has ended. But roads this morning are still fairly wet. We had a wide range of rainfall reports come into the First Warn weather center from our viewers. Topping the charts was Joelle from Hillcrest who received an astonishing 5.00" of rainfall overnight. Don from Loves Park was right below that with 4.50".  If you have any damage from last night's rain event, the clean-up today features much drier conditions.

Turning our attention back to the cold front, it has fully swept through the Stateline as of 9 AM. Winds will be the story through the remainder of your Friday. It will take some time, but winds will become more westerly by the time we reach the afternoon. Sustained winds of 10 or 20 MPH with gusts pushing 30 MPH are possible  These gusty winds should diminish once the sun sets.

Aside from the strong winds, we’re ending the week several degrees below-average. Conditions today will feel much more comfortable that what we were subject to a few days ago. The humidity won't slap you in the face as you walk out the door. Our highs today will be slightly cooler, with most spots landing in the mid 70s. Skies will remain partly sunny through the afternoon and evening. If you are heading out to City Market in downtown Rockford, or our for high school football, there will be a light breeze so grabbing a light jacket before heading out. Game of the week tonight is the East E-Rabs and the Auburn Knights.

Another event that you will be able to witness tonight is the sight of September's "Harvest" full moon. What is fascinating about this is that it is happening on Friday the 13th. This is the first time that a full moon has occurred on Friday the 13th since October 13th, 2000. If you miss out on it tonight, it won't happen again for another 30 years, August 13th, 2049. Plenty of clear skies overnight allow for temperatures to cool quickly into the low to mid 50s. Saturday will feature plenty of sunshine and slightly more seasonable temperatures. A gradual warm-up through the weekend. Highs climb to near 80 on Saturday, then jump into the low 80s by the end of the weekend. Rain chances return overnight Saturday into early Sunday. Rain gradually tapers off by lunchtime Sunday.