Heavy rain, flash flooding, and gusty winds on tap for Friday

Heavy Rain Inbound:

Thursday's rainfall total came to .40" at the Rockford Airport, bringing our monthly total to 0.91". When it comes to the first 12 days of October, that comes in slightly below average. 

But I wouldn't be quick to put the rain gear away just yet as the heaviest rainfall is scheduled to come through today. Scattered showers that are developing across southern and southeastern Iowa this morning should quickly increase in both coverage and intensity by mid-morning. The heaviest of the rain is expected to fall between 9AM and 3PM before shower and storm activity become a bit more scattered into the late afternoon. 

As this potent low approaches the Stateline, another round of scattered showers and storms will develop this evening. Tagging along with this activity will be the small risk for a severe storm or two, capable of producing damaging winds. 

But this will be mainly for those that manage to get into the warm sector (area in between of the warm front and the cold front) of the incoming low. These areas have been placed under a level 1 Marginal Risk for severe weather, which does include Whiteside, Lee, and extreme southern Dekalb County. Localized flooding will also be a big concern as most will wind up with a quick 1-2 inches from today's activity.

Gloomy, Windy Saturday:

Forecast models show this storm system passing to our south and southeast Saturday. Moisture wrapping around the departing low will keep scattered showers in the works for Saturday, especially during the morning. Also wrapping around the low will be our next round of cooler air, which will result in a temperature drop over the weekend. Highs today will slowly reach the upper 50s, with low 50s ticketed for Saturday, Sunday and next Monday.