Rain showers and tumbling temperatures for the weekend

 

High pressure remains in control over the next several days helping to keep skies rain free through the end of the week. Temperatures Tuesday afternoon warmed into the middle and upper 70s/low 80s, with Rockford's high temperature reaching 81 degrees. Mostly clear skies and light winds will allow temperatures to fall into the middle to upper 50s Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.

The chance for rain will return for the weekend,

however, as a cold front moves towards the Midwest from the northwest and low pressure moves in from the south. The strong ridge of high pressure that has brought record heat across the West will begin to break down by Thursday and Friday. This break down is in response to a strong jet stream wind moving overtop the ridge, carving out a trough (or dip) in the jet stream across the Plains and Midwest.

At the surface this will produce an area of low pressure that'll remain well north of the Stateline, but its cold front will move through sometime during the afternoon Saturday. Ahead of the front temperatures will continue to warm into the 80s, but behind the front temperatures will fall quickly.

There isn't a great deal of moisture that forms ahead of the front. In fact, most of the rain will likely end up falling behind the cold front Saturday evening. But the combination of both the low to the south and cold front from the west will increase our chance for rain through the end of the weekend. Rainfall totals look to range anywhere from a quarter of an inch, to three quarters of an inch.

A rather chilly air mass is set to follow the front Sunday and Monday which could push temperatures down through the 70s, with highs even in the 60s possible! This would up being well below average for this time of year. Temperatures beyond next Monday look to moderate some, rising back into the middle 70s.