Wildfire smoke slowly exits, 90° stretch begins today

Leftover Smoke:

Wildfire smoke lingering around the Stateline continues to make the air quality unhealthy for some. For that, the EPA continues to keep areas to the north and east of Rockford under an Air Quality Alert until midnight tonight. Young children, the elderly, and those who have lung/heart issues should limit time outdoors, especially during the morning hours.   

Hot Tuesday:

It seems that this plume of smoke will slowly filter out as we head into the afternoon. In doing so, leaving us with wall to wall sunshine. That, along with a light wind out of the south will allow temperatures to soar into the low 90s for the 6th time this year. 

Thankfully, humidity won’t be too terrible as dew points aim to sit in the low 60s this afternoon. Most of the night will be dry under a partly cloudy sky, with temperatures falling near the 70° mark. However, we'll have to keep an eye on the thunderstorm activity that develops to our northwest this evening. The strength of that activity as it approaches the region will be the determining factor into our Wednesday's forecast pans out both heat-wise and thunderstorm-wise. 

Hot, Stormy Wednesday?:

When it comes to Wednesday's forecast, here's the two scenarios that could happen...

1. Thunderstorms remain strong, pushing through the region between 4AM-9AM. The wind shift that accompanies the early-morning activity would allow highs to climb into the upper 80s/low 90s. The best chance for redevelopment would be to our east, in areas around Chicago and Lake Michigan.

2. Thunderstorms weaken on approach, leaving us with plenty of sunshine and a warm wind out of the south and southwest. This would make highs in the mid 90s a decent bet. Humidity would also spike as dew points would be sitting above 65°. Again, we'll have to see how these thunderstorms behave once they form and once they begin to approach the region.

For right now, the Storm Prediction Center continues to leave the entire region under a level 2 slight risk, with a level 3 enhanced risk placed over S. Michigan, NE. Indiana, and NW. Ohio. Large hail, damaging winds, and a brief tornado would be the biggest concerns if thunderstorms remain strong. 

Thursday looks to be the hottest day of this stretch with highs peaking in the upper 90s. The risk for thunderstorms is lower, meaning there won't be much to interrupt Thursday's warm-up. With dew points reaching the low 70s, expect heat indices to climb or even eclipse the 100° mark. Again, if planning to be out and about, heat safety will need to become a huge priority for not only you, but your family, and even your pets. Highs for the fourth straight day will reach the 90s before a cold front slides in early Saturday, leaving us in the 80s Saturday and Sunday.