Decreasing Clouds Thursday, Shower Chances Return Friday

Long Rainy Stretch:

When it rains it pours. Not only is that the title to one of my favorite country songs by Luke Combs, but it's also a great way to describe Wednesday's rainfall. A glance at the almanac shows that Rockford was able to pick up a whopping 0.74" of rain, marking the 13th straight day in which the airport has observed a trace or more. Fortunately, we'll see a break from this long rainy pattern today, with rain chances making a quick return for the end of the work week.

Few Showers Early:

A sharp frontal boundary moving in before the sun peeks over the horizon has pivoted a round of sprinkles and showers to kick off our Thursday. The bigger question with this activity is does any of this make it to the surface. 

Dew points are registering in the mid to upper 40s early Thursday morning, which may be too dry for any water droplets to hit the surface. But I would still have that umbrella with you just to be on the safe side. Any activity that does manage to hit the surface should remain light in nature, and shouldn't bring any disruptions to your morning travels. Guidance does leave a chance into mid, possibly late-morning, with cloudy skies sticking around into the lunch hour.

Late-Day Sunshine:

Once the cold front is well to the southeast of the Stateline, our atmosphere will begin to dry out, allowing clouds to gradual clear throughout the afternoon. With a southwest wind lingering behind the frontal passage, highs will once again be limited to the upper 60s/low 70s. The overnight hours remain dry, but clouds are expected to be on the increase as we inch closer towards sunrise Friday morning. This will be in response to our next storm system which is set to bring one more rain chance before we dry out into the weekend.

Showers Return Friday:

Guidance has come into more agreement on the southerly extent of Friday's storm system's track, taking it through extreme southern Illinois. As this system rides today's cold front, moisture will get pulled northward, allowing for us to see a few showers.  It looks like chances begin shortly after sunrise, lasting through the mid-afternoon hours. Showers look to make a quick exit by the time we're heading into Friday night, marking the beginning of a long dry and sun-filled stretch of weather. Sunshine looks to dominate our skies both Saturday and Sunday, with highs topping out in the 60s.