Remaining Cool and Dry Ahead of Weekend Heat

Yesterday, we were greeted to light showers during the evening. As expected, the Stateline ended up on the lower end of the totem pole as almost everyone ended up under a quarter of an inch. Savanna came in on top with a whopping .13" of rain, with Rockford only picking up 0.04". That makes for the 17th day since the start of meteorological summer on June 1st that has observed measurable precipitation. At this point last year, we had 32. Just goes to show you that rain chance have been very limited this summer, and it looks like our next chance for rain will hold until the upcoming weekend. Until then, we remain dry and comfortable.

We are still waiting for a slow-moving cold to pass through the region. Ahead of this front, quite a bit of patchy fog has developed thanks to the moisture leftover from yesterday's rainfall. The fog so far has been at it's most dense in our southern areas, specially along I-88. If you are heading out onto the roads early on, it will be essential to take your time getting to your destination as this layer of fog should linger into the mid morning hours. Other than the patchy fog, the Stateline is off to a fairly dry start under a mostly cloudy sky. Temperatures ahead of the cold front are noticeably warmer, with most locations in the upper 60s and low 70s. Once this cold front comes through, cloud cover is expected to decrease, leading to some afternoon sunshine and comfortable temps.

Model guidance this morning had this slow-moving cold front sliding through by the mid to late morning hours. As it's pushing through, surface winds across the region will shift to the northwest, allowing for a drier air mass to filter in. Cloud cover should linger into the noontime hour, before giving way to partly sunny skies for the rest of the afternoon. This frontal boundary may leave a light breeze, as northwesterly winds could gust to around 15 mph. However, winds will begin to settle down overnight as an area of high pressure settles in. Overnight lows will end up a little more comfortable by the time we wake up tomorrow morning, in the low 60s.

As far as the rest of the work week is concerned, this high pressure system will hold off any chances for the Stateline to see some rain until the weekend. Similar to today's forecast, Thursday will remain dry and comfortable, as highs climb into the low to mid 80s. The humidity will not be an issue if you have outdoor plans, as dew points will remain in the low 60s.

However, that can't be said for the upcoming weekend.  Highs will climb back into the low 90s for both Saturday and Sunday. Not only is it going to feel hot, it's going to feel very uncomfortable as dew points will climb even higher, in the low 70s. The combination of the two will likely bring heat index values back near the 100° mark. Something that we have seen now for three of July's weekends.