Soaking rain continues, wind advisory issued for some

The first wave of precipitation is sliding into northern Illinois ahead of the morning commute. Embedded in this activity is a few non-severe thunderstorms, only producing brief heavy downpours and a few isolated cloud to ground lightning bolts. 

Be sure to dust off the umbrella and have it with you from start to finish as this won't be the only time we see rain throughout the day.

In fact, much of the day will feature widespread rain with steady to moderate bands pushing through after the midday hours. Rainfall rates at times could reach at or above 0.25" per hour, which will likely cause some ponding on roadways and some minor flooding issues in low-lying areas. 

 

Expect this to continue into the first half of the night before another break the precipitation rates occurs as the mature surface low passes overhead. Once the low pressure's center is to our east, much cooler air will begin to wrap in behind it. Temperatures will quickly drop from the low 40s Wednesday morning to the 30s by afternoon. This will help flip our precipitation from scattered rain showers to wet snow by midday, with some bands of steady snow showers remaining possible through the afternoon. 

Snowfall accumulations do not appear significant due to the mild and wet state of the ground, but some minor accumulations will be possible on grassy and elevated surfaces. Visibility issues will also be a concern for Stateline travelers, especially underneath the steadier bands of snow. 

Now, because of how potent winds look to get, the National Weather Service has placed Stephenson, Carroll, Whiteside, and Jo-Daviess counties under a Wind Advisory from 11AM-9PM. At times Wednesday, winds could gusts as high as 45 to 50 mph. If there was an expansion of this advisory, it would occur later today so stay tuned. Impacts with this potent spring system will exit the region by Thursday, leaving us quiet, partly cloudy with highs near the 40-degree mark