Northern Illinois to see a few more severe opportunities this week

Sunday's Storm Reports:

Now that the severe thunderstorm watch has come to an end, we can take a look at the storm reports from Sunday evening/night. Again, with the early round of showers and storms pushing through, the atmosphere didn't really become active until after sunset as a lifting frontal boundary provided the lift needed for additional development. Several reports were received across northern Illinois, including a few tornado reports. One possible tornado was reported in Lee County, while another touched down closer to I-80 near Atkinson and Annawan.  

Northwest Flow Continues:

While the northwest flow pattern aloft isn't as strong as it was over the weekend, it is keeping the jet stream positioned almost directly at the western Great Lakes. That setup will allow a few more disturbances to ride southeast over the next several day, bringing periodic chances for showers and storms. As a result, we will need to keep tabs on the forecast during the first half of the week as some thunderstorms could entail the potential for severe weather. 

Daily Severe Potential:

A portion of the Stateline, particularly areas south and east of Rockford, remains under a level 2 of 5 Slight Risk for scattered severe weather. While coverage is not expected to be widespread, any thunderstorm that develops and moves through will be during evening and early overnight hours. The primary threat will be damaging winds, though the environment may also support an isolated tornado or two.  

Tomorrow brings much of the same, though timing appears to be much earlier. Another disturbance riding along the jet stream will likely spark a round of the thunderstorms and showers late tonight into tomorrow morning, with the resulting cluster pushing into the Stateline Tuesday morning, with chances possibly stretching into the midday hours. 

Given the amount of instability of storm fuel in the atmosphere, a few of these storms could once again be strong to severe, with damaging winds being the primary concern. Similar to today, make sure to keep tabs on the forecast while also having multiple ways to receive watches and warnings.