Wonderful Sunday ahead, storm chances still on tap for next week

Another "Get Outside" Day:

Saturday's weather was as perfect as you can get for a day in early July. Cloud cover early on gave way to plenty of afternoon sunshine, highs peaked on either side of the 80-degree mark, and humidity levels remained extremely comfortable. Today's weather will be a carbon copy of Saturday, minus the morning clouds and stray shower chance. 

The day begins will wall-to-wall sunshine, with a few fair-weather cumulus clouds developing for the afternoon. Winds will blow out of the west-northwest for much of the day before shifting to the southwest sometime this evening. These winds, along with today's abundant sunshine will help bring highs back to early-July standards, with temperatures peaking into the low 80s. To make a long story short, please get outside and enjoy the weather today! Conditions remain relatively quiet overnight, with temperatures falling back in the upper 50s. 

Storm Chances Return:

Southwest flow is expected to hang tight into the beginning of next week, helping bring back a little more heat and humidity to the region. Both Monday and Tuesday feature highs in the upper 80s, with storm potential arriving Tuesday afternoon. 

Next week's storm chances are all thanks to our next cold front which aims to slide through sometime during the day Tuesday. Expect any activity with this front to come through in a scattered fashion.

Severe potential Tuesday is low. However, the Storm Prediction Center did place the entire viewing area under a level 1 Marginal Risk, mainly for damaging winds and small-sized hail. 

Forecast models then show this front stalling out to our south into Wednesday, becoming a nearly stationary boundary in the process. A complex of storms is then shown developing in eastern Iowa, tracking along this stalled boundary into Illinois. However, the timing and location of this storm complex has yet to be determined since we are still a few days out from the actual event. For right now, make sure to stay up to date with the forecast. Beyond Wednesday, thunderstorm potential settles down for Thursday and for a good chunk of Friday, with highs peaking in the low 80s.