Heat, humidity, storm chances ramp up over the weekend

Thursday will be very similar to Wednesday, a mix of cloud and sun for most of the day with the the chance for a late-day shower or storm. If you have outdoor plans, such as going to Dinner on the Dock over at Prairie Street, keep an eye on the radar. 

Highs will peak in the low to mid 80s. Once today's disturbance moves out, skies remain quiet overnight, with lows ending up in the low 60s.

The weather will continue to stay quiet to round out the work week. Expect partly cloudy skies with highs peaking in the upper 80s. Although we'll be warmer, humidity won't be too terrible. It's not until Saturday afternoon where we'll start to feel the surge of warm and humid air from the west. 

 

Most of Saturday will be warm, humid, and dry. However, the Stateline has been placed us on the tail-end of a level 1 of 5 Marginal Risk for severe weather. This will likely be in the form of scattered afternoon"pulse-like" storms capable of gusty winds and heavy downpours. The atmosphere will be capped on Sunday, meaning a warm layer of air in the low-levels will keep a "lid" on thunderstorm potential. If by chance an updraft was strong enough to break the cap, storm chances would increase for the late afternoon and evening hours. 

The Storm Prediction Center does have the entire region under a 15% severe risk in their latest long-range outlook, which is equivalent to a level 2 Slight Risk. Highs will peak in the low 90s, marking the first 90° day in Rockford since June 25th. Factor in dew point temperatures in the mid to upper 70s and you get heat indices near 100° mark. 

Similar heat and humidity will be felt on Monday, though Monday features less of a atmospheric cap, bringing the chance for thunderstorms up. In a similar fashion to Sunday, the Stateline has been placed under a 15% risk for severe weather. There are still some uncertainties when it comes to Monday's severe threat so keep a close tab on the forecast.