Windy weekend with limited rain chances

 Drought conditions continue to hold steady for many in the Stateline, with abnormally dry to moderate drought across all our Stateline counties. There were some improvements to Illinois' overall numbers with much-needed rainfall from the remnants of Helene across the Southern portions of the state. But Wisconsin saw drought conditions worsen, especially across Northern parts of the state, including severe drought growing in NE Wisconsin.

Unfortunately, our upcoming chances for rain are limited with not much total rainfall on the way. Our first chance comes late tonight as a frontal system passes through. A passing shower or two may be possible between 12AM-6AM in the Stateline, with rain exiting the area by sunrise. Those who do see any rain likely won't see much, less than 0.1" in total.

Lingering clouds from that system will not stick around long into Friday morning, with more sunshine returning for the afternoon. High temperatures later that afternoon will be noticeably cooler than the near-80° highs we saw Thursday. Temperatures will then start to fall by the evening under dry air and clear skies, allowing for some chill by Friday night football games.

The weekend will be a bit of a windy one with gusts near 30 mph both Saturday and Sunday. Southerly winds on Saturday will allow for temperatures to rise into the 80s, with a slim chance for a shower late into the night along our next cold front. That front flips winds to come from the Northwest, as they still gust to around 30 mph. Similar to Friday, skies will clear into the afternoon allowing more sunshine later into the day.

Saturday night, the bulk of the rain along the cold front will be displaced to our North, but an isolated shower or two may be possible along with a stray rumble of thunder. Greatest chances for any meaningful rain lie further North into Central Wisconsin.

After Saturday night, the rest of the week is dry with temperatures slowly climbing back to the mid-70s by the end of the week, with more sunshine and dry air especially Tuesday and Wednesday. Overnight lows will be chilly most nights with clear skies.