Cooler & Sunny Conditions Remain Ahead of Late-Week Thunderstorm Chances

Beautiful Monday:

While it was a tad bit breezy, Monday ended being a spectacular day across the Stateline as highs failed to climb out of the low 70s. In fact, it was the first below-average daily high at the airport here in Rockford since May 31st. Thankfully, the same air-mass that sat over our heads yesterday is expected to stick around for our Tuesday. However, with all the dry air that filtered in with this air-mass, today will feature a lot more sunshine than Monday.

Another Pleasant Day Ahead:

If you end up grabbing a light jacket before you step out the door this morning, that wouldn't come as a surprise to me. Temperatures for most of our local airports are 10° to 15° cooler compared to 24 hours ago, with a spot or two landing in the low 40s. Along with that light jacket, be sure to have your favorite pair of sunglasses with you. Tuesday morning features a plethora of sunshine, with a few clouds building in during the afternoon. 

Winds today won't be as breezy as Monday, with southwest winds topping out around 20 mph. This change in wind direction will help bring our daily high temperatures up by a couple of degrees, with most topping out in the mid to upper 70s. As far as the humidity is concerned, no issues today as dew points continue to remain in the "comfortable" range. What I'm really trying to get at is today will be a lovely day to spend time outdoors, and another day to leave the A/C units off.

Late-Week Rain Chances:

As far as the Stateline's next chance for a good soaking rain, that holds off until the second half of the work week. A passing shower or thunderstorm remains possible overnight tonight into Wednesday morning, as a weak disturbance slides to the southwest of the region. However, our eyes are more focused on the stronger system that is expected to move in Thursday into Friday. 

Severe Threat:

As of this moment, the threat for severe weather is low on Thursday, with the highest threat concentrated to the west of the viewing area. This morning, the Storm Prediction Center placed almost all of eastern Nebraska and the entire state of Iowa under a Slight Risk (level 1 of 5) for severe weather. The Stateline is on the back edge of the severe threat, being placed under a Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5). I think out of the two days, the better of the two for severe weather will be on Friday as the cold front slides through the region.