Isolated Showers Early Today, More Significant Rain Chances On the Horizon

Rain Chances Early:

Tuesday was the second day in a row where our daily high temperature at the Rockford Airport failed to reach the 80°. In simply put it, it was a beautiful late-June day to be outside, and a lovely evening to grab a bite to eat at the Food Truck Tuesday event over at Sinnissippi Park. The weather pattern as we roll into our Wednesday jumps in a whole different direction, one that features a chance for a few showers.  For the most part, showers associated with a weak disturbance as remained to our southwest, bringing decent rainfall amounts to areas like Cedar Rapids, Davenport, and Sterling.

As for us here at home, I would have an umbrella on hand just to be on the safe side as a few light showers are expected this morning. Chances should wind down by early this afternoon, with skies turning partly cloudy as we head into tonight. While it was nice to get a break from those gusty winds yesterday, that won't be the case this afternoon. Winds out of the southwest could approach 30-35 mph, with our strongest gusts moving in between 1PM-6PM. The combination of the chance for late-day sunshine, along with these gusty southwest winds, will help push temperatures in the low 80s. But depending on how long these showers chances stick around, we may see temperatures top out in the upper 70s. We remain dry overnight, ahead of a round of soaking rain chances that begin Thursday afternoon. 

Late-Week Chances:

A good chunk of Thursday morning looks to remain dry, with rain and thunderstorm chances quickly ramping up after the lunch hour. The Storm Prediction Center continues to keep the region in it's entirety under a Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5) for severe weather, with a higher threat across our neighboring state to the west. The cluster of storms that arrive late in the day could bring the potential for gusty winds and large hail. But the main concern with these storms will be heavy rainfall, especially overnight into Friday morning where rain chances become more widespread. 

In fact, models have indicated that we could see the potential for 2"-4" of rainfall between Thursday and Saturday, which could really help with our current drought situation. As of today, we are sitting over 8" below average when it comes to rainfall. So a nice 4" of rain will help cut that deficit in half. It'll be important to see how models trend with this rain event over the next 24 hours. All in all, conditions should be winding down by Saturday morning, resulting in a mainly dry weekend with highs remaining in the low 80s.