Rain showers return for the weekend; Temperatures warm near 80 degrees next week

Temperatures Thursday afternoon warmed to 71 degrees making it the first time since May 3rd that the high reached 70 (plus) degrees, as well as warming above average.  The warming trend will continue into the weekend and next week, although may take a little break most likely Saturday as cloud cover and scattered showers move in. 

Friday will be another seasonably warm afternoon with temperatures rising into the upper 60s and low 70s.  Skies will start off with plenty of sunshine but cloud cover will gradually increase throughout the day.  High pressure that has dominated our skies the last several days will slowly begin trekking east with its dry air mass still holding across the Stateline.  As moisture increases from the west and southwest Friday evening, a few showers are likely west of the Mississippi River in Iowa.  We may not see any rain showers until late overnight Friday, or early Saturday morning.  The weekend isn't going to be a washout and we'll likely end up with more dry hours than west ones.  Widely scattered showers will be possible Saturday with temperatures holding in the mid 60s.

Sunday morning and afternoon will feature more dry time as well, although we could see a slight uptick in the chance for rain late Sunday evening and overnight.  A warm frontal boundary will lift closer to the Stateline Sunday evening, but likely fall short of actually reaching the region.  This means the highest chance for rain overnight Sunday into Monday will most likely bypass the majority of the Stateline.

High pressure building north across the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest will continue to work to block most of the moisture from reaching northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin early next week.  With a drier forecast in store it's likely temperatures will warm into the mid and upper 70s for Monday and Tuesday.  By Wednesday the high will shift east allowing a little more moisture and opportunity for rain, as well as a thunderstorm or two, to move into the Stateline.  Temperatures still look to remain close to 80 degrees by the end of the week.