Pair of Fronts Bring Brief Shower Chances Ahead of Dry Weekend

Historic Rainfall:

A stationary boundary draped across the southern portion of the state brought historic rainfall to areas in and around St. Louis on Tuesday. When it was all said and done, the National Weather Service came in with a 24 hour rainfall total of 9.04". 

This completely shattered the previous all-time daily record of 7.02" left behind by the Galveston hurricane remnants in August of 1915. To further blow your mind, the St. Louis area saw more rainfall in a 24 hour period than the Rockford Airport has seen since the beginning of meteorological summer (June 1st). While that boundary will keep rain chances to our south, a pair of cold front sliding in from the northwest will bring a few hit-or-miss chances ahead of the weekend. 

First Cold Front:

Guidance shows the first of two cold fronts sliding through before mid-day, bringing with it the chance for widely isolated showers. Once the front is to our south and east, conditions on the backside will slowly clear up during the afternoon, with highs peaking in the lower 80s. Expect mixed sunshine for the drive home later today with conditions remaining dry into the overnight hours.

Secondary Front:

Shortly after the midnight hour, clouds will quickly increase as a secondary boundary enters the region from the northwest. This one also having enough lift and moisture with it to produce a few isolated showers during the early stages of our Thursday. In a similar fashion to today's forecast, conditions will dry out post-frontal passage, with highs climbing into the upper 70s and lower 80s.

Dry Conditions Follow:

Sliding in behind our two midweek cold fronts is a high pressure system that will quickly bring down rain chances before the weekend. Under a mix of clouds and sunshine, highs Friday afternoon look to fall short of the 80-degree mark. 

However, this cool-down is brief as both Saturday and Sunday call for highs in the 80s. Thankfully, high humidity levels will continue to hold off. That in my opinion is fantastic news for those heading to either the Lee County of Stephenson County fairs!