Widespread rain showers make a return toward the weekend

 While we have remained dry despite isolated shower chances the last couple of days, more chances will return for the middle and end of the week. Starting overnight, a few isolated showers will track along the same area as last night's. These will remain primarily South and West of Rockford, but a slim chance for an isolated shower will remain possible.

Wednesday will be very similar to Tuesday with temperatures climbing a bit higher again. Highs will reach well into the mid-50s with sunshine early on and more fair-weather cumulus clouds during the afternoon. Wednesday night into Thursday will again bring showers, but this time a bit higher in coverage. These could persist into Thursday morning, but high temperatures will again reach the mid-50s. A few rumbles of thunder will be possible Thursday night as a warm front lifts through the region. The strongest of those storms may produce some small hail.

That warm front will clear the state line to the North by the afternoon, helping to boost temperatures near 70° for the afternoon highs. This may also temporarily bring a drier period of time for the daytime hours, but widespread rain returns Friday night and Saturday.

The weather system bringing those widespread showers could also produce a few thunderstorms Saturday. The exact times of when steadiest rain will fall over the weekend is still up in the air but expect more frequent waves of rain for both Saturday and Sunday. Late into Sunday, much cooler air will begin filtering in, possibly flipping things over to a wintry mix by the evening as temperatures quickly drop to the upper 20s by Monday morning.

You may have seen a few mentions on social media about our storm potential this weekend. The expansive weather system will provide a chance for some storms and even possibly severe weather, but that focus will be primarily well South of our area. The latest outlook from the Storm Prediction Center highlights mainly Central and Southern Illinois for the highest potential of severe weather at this time. Barring any major shifts in the track of our system, I do not expect widespread severe weather in our region this weekend.