Brief warm up ahead of weekend warmth

 

Temperatures Monday afternoon were a little below average for the end of May, but still comfortable rising into the low to mid 60s. After plenty of sunshine greeted us for the first half of the day, cloud cover has quickly moved in and will keep us mostly cloudy through the night. Temperatures Monday night will dip into the low to mid 40s.

Clouds will stick around through the day Tuesday but afternoon highs will be similar to Monday area wide, reaching the mid 60s. As both a warm front and low pressure system near the Stateline Tuesday afternoon and evening there may be a few sprinkles that dot the skies, along with a few light showers late in the day, but the majority of Tuesday will remain dry.

Showers and thunderstorms will increase in coverage as a warm front lifts into northern Illinois Wednesday morning bringing with it heavy downpours and a few embedded thunderstorms. Severe weather is not expected during that time, but a few gustier thunderstorms are possible during the afternoon to the east and southeast of Rockford as temperatures climb following the warm front.

High temperatures Wednesday afternoon actually look to be a little warmer than previous forecast, reaching at least the low 70s (closer to average). If we manage to see some sunshine during that time, middle to upper 70s are possible. But the increase in the warmth could also mean a slight increase in thunderstorms later in the day, some of which could pose a strong wind threat. 

Scattered showers will continue Thursday as low pressure is slow to depart the Stateline, but temperatures will also remain close to 70 degrees. A few lingering showers are expected Friday with a gradual warming trend towards the latter half of the holiday weekend; highs are expected to rise into the low to mid 80s Sunday and Memorial Day.