Thursday morning weather update

Welcome to August friends! I can't believe we ended July with just one 90° day and it so happened to occur on the final day of the month. 

As for August, Rockford typically sees average highs stay in the low 80s, with average lows dropping into the upper 50s by the 31st. Highs to begin the month will remain above average as the "ring of fire" keeps a firm grip on the Midwest. Not only that, we look to see a few more chances for scattered storms before our pattern quiets down this weekend.

A weakening complex of storms may result in a few raindrops prior to the morning commute. A break in the action is to follow, which could very well help the atmosphere recharge as our next low pressure system slides across Wisconsin. 

This will likely result in an additional round of storms for the late afternoon-early evening hours, some of which could be strong to severe. It's for that reason the Storm Prediction Center upgraded areas east of Rockford, Dixon, and Sterling to a level 2 Slight Risk, leaving the rest of the area under a level 1 Marginal Risk. This is mainly for strong winds and heavy rainfall, though an isolated tornado or two cannot be ruled out thanks to the additional spin added by the nearby low. Expect storm chances to lower around or shortly after sunset. 

A few showers may linger into the first half of Friday. However, the expectation is for conditions to slowly dry out, leaving us partly cloudy ahead of prior to the evening commute. Highs will take a step back a degree or two, landing in the mid 80s. From there, we can expect conditions to continue to dry out as high pressure slides in from the northwest. Saturday and Sunday feature a good amount of sunshine, with temperatures peaking in the upper 80s. 

Cooler air is expected to take over as we approach the middle of August. Forecast models show a boundary shifting south of the region by Monday, allowing highs to cool into the low 80s. Not only that, overnight low temperatures aim to cool back into the low 60s, possibly upper 50s by midweek. So as the saying goes, if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes. Or in this case, a week as more comfortable times will be here before we know it.