Cloudy, Cool, & Wet as Many Students Head Back to School

Many of you may have gotten an early wake-up call during the predawn hours this morning. Not all that surprised as thunderstorms produced quite a bit of lightning as they moved into the Stateline shortly after midnight. Even as the lightning threat diminished, widespread showers continued to bring moderate to heavy rainfall as many students woke up for their first day of school this morning. 

Rainfall totals as of 7 AM this morning ranged in the .75" to 1.00" for most spots. Rockford however, winning by a landslide observing over 2.5" of rainfall. All of this rainfall was definitely much needed, especially with a majority of northern Illinois experiencing moderate drought conditions. If your kid(s) are heading off to their first day of school, or you're heading into work this morning, you'll definitely need to grab the rain gear before stepping out the doorway. 

Now, you won't need it at all times, but it's going to be pretty important to keep it by you throughout the day. The widespread rain from this earlier this morning should taper off a bit by mid-morning, but chances rain remain scattered for the afternoon and evening. On top of the very wet weather that the our area will see today, it's going to feel very fall-like as cooler temperatures stick around. Thanks to today's rain chances, and brisk northeasterly wind, the thermometer will only climb into the low 60s by this afternoon. Pretty chilly for early September standards, as our forecast high of 62° is typically what we see during the middle of October. 

One more thing to mentioned before we jump into tomorrow's rain chances, it's going to be a bit windy later on. So far, winds for most have been around 10-15 mph, with isolated gusts up to 20 mph. This afternoon and evening, that brisk northeasterly wind is expected to increase, and could gust upwards of 25-30 mph. I can't believe I am going to say this, but this wind may make it feel a bit chillier this evening than what the thermometer actually reads. There's a certain meteorological term for that, but I'll hold off on saying it until the time is right. Don't want to jump to far ahead.

The forecast calls for more rain chances as we head into the middle of the work week. But unlike today, Wednesday's showers are likely to be less widespread, and more intermittent. However, similar to today, you'll want to make sure to have the rain gear ready to go before you head out the doorway. It seems that the best chances for rain will reside during the morning hours, and into the early afternoon. The combination of these scattered showers and cloudy skies will once again limit our full heating potnetial, landing highs in the low 60s. But hey, more rain is a good thing. Anything to help reduce the drought.