Be Air Aware

Did you know that we breathe about two gallons of air every minute?
Just think about it...
The person in the cubicle next to you has had the same virus for several weeks. Do you think at some point in those past weeks you have ingested the air that that person is coughing out? What about the group of smokers that stand exactly 15 feet away from your school and you have to pass by them just to get into the building? Or even Aunt Jane that uses, what seems like, half the bottle of hairspray every time she steps in front of the mirror? Regardless of what is being distributed into the surrounding air, we breathe it in.

Generally, anything that people introduce to the atmosphere has a negative effect on not only the environment, but to every living thing as well. Pollution may not always be as visible as the famous "California smog." There are plenty of things in the air that cannot be seen, like carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas)  or chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). While one continues to warm our atmosphere and the other destroy the ozone, they both play a major roll in the quality of our air.

The National Weather Service and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are urging Americans to "Be Air Aware" through its air quality awareness week. Air Quality Awareness week is this week, May 2-6. They have designated every day with topics on how you can learn about and prevent polluting the air.
Air Quality Awareness Link

Pattern Change Early Next Week

May has started off a little on the cooler side but that may all be changing starting early next.  While we've got a couple systems that will impact us Thursday and once again Saturday, an area of low pressure will develop late on Sunday in the Plains and move east.

This will allow a very warm and moist airmass to move in from the south starting Monday.  The image on the left is the 850 mb (roughly 5,000ft) map showing a fairly strong south/southwest wind which will help to transport the moisture and warmth.  Still the big question will be just where exactly does the surface warm front lie.  While it appears the 850 mb warm front will lift north of the area the surface front may sit just a little to the south.  This would play a big factor in just how warm we get Monday and Tuesday.  Right now I'm banking on a few sunny breaks and both days not being a complete washout with highs in the upper 70s maybe touching upon 80°.  If the front does make it further to the north our chances for thunderstorms will increase as well.

New Zealand Tornado

It's not the first place you think of when you think of tornadic weather, but according to the following Associated Press article, tornadoes aren't that uncommon in New Zealand:

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – A tornado ripped across part of New Zealand largest city on Tuesday, upturning cars and sending debris slicing through the air, witnesses and news reports said. At least one person was killed and about 20 injured, a hospital official said.

The swirling dark-gray column of air and cloud cut a 3-mile (5-kilometer) path across the Auckland suburb of Albany at mid afternoon, tearing off roofing iron, flattening trees and tossing vehicles around, police and witnesses said.
"There were kids in a car which turned upside down and they had to get help," said Hamish Blair, whose golf supplies store was in the hardest-hit area. "There's probably six or seven seriously damaged cars, and I saw cars flying off the ground about 30 meters (100 feet) in the air."
The tornado first touched down in Albany and then passed through neighboring Birkenhead. Most of the serious damage was in Albany, where a shopping mall, a large hardware store and a supermarket were hit. Radio New Zealand reported that the roof of the Mega Center mall in Albany collapsed.
Paul Patton, a spokesman for North Shore Hospital, said one person had been killed and at least 20 injured.
Tornadoes are not uncommon in New Zealand, particularly on the country's North Island, where Auckland lies. But they tend to be smaller than those seen in the U.S. Midwest. Auckland generally gets one or two tornadoes a year, according to New Zealand's Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Management.
New Zealand has been hit by several disasters in recent months, including a Feb. 22 earthquake that devastated the South Island city of Christchurch and killed at least 169 people.

Frost Advisory... Again!

For the second night in a row, most of the Stateline is under a frost advisory. (Stephenson county is actually under a freeze warning!) Here it is in writing from the NWS office in Romeoville:

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ROCKFORD...BELVIDERE...WOODSTOCK...
WAUKEGAN...OREGON...DIXON...DEKALB...AURORA...WHEATON...CHICAGO...
OTTAWA...OSWEGO...MORRIS...JOLIET

402 PM CDT TUE MAY 3 2011
...FROST ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 8 AM CDT WEDNESDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A FROST
ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 8 AM CDT WEDNESDAY.
* TEMPERATURE...TEMPERATURES WILL DROP INTO THE LOWER TO MIDDLE
30S OVER PORTIONS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS DURING THE EARLY MORNING
HOURS AS SKIES CLEAR AND WINDS BECOME LIGHT. THIS SHOULD LEAD TO
AREAS OF FROST. LOCATIONS ALONG THE LAKE FRONT AND NEAR DOWNTOWN CHICAGO SHOULD REMAIN A LITTLE WARMER...SO FROST IS NOT EXPECTED
THERE.

* IMPACTS...FROST CAN KILL OR DAMAGE SENSITIVE VEGETATION. THE
APPROPRIATE ACTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PREVENT THIS.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FROST ADVISORY MEANS THAT FROST IS POSSIBLE. SENSITIVE OUTDOOR
PLANTS MAY BE KILLED IF LEFT UNCOVERED.

Frost Advisory

There is a frost advisory in-effect overnight from 4am to 7am for all of our Illinois counties. Many Wisconsin viewers are likely to see frost also, but the NWS offices further north probably haven't started issuing frost headlines this early in the season.

Frost will be most likely in rural areas to the west of Rockford. To the east of Rockford, clouds may prevent temperatures from getting as cold. Still, it's advised to cover any sensitive vegetation or bring it inside.

More Wet Weather in the South

It's something residents don't need anymore of this week; rain and storms.  While the severe threat is not nearly as high as it was last week more rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast for people who have already dealt with significant flooding and several outbreaks of severe weather.

The cold front that passed late Saturday night has stalled through the lower Mississippi River Valley and will stay there through today and tomorrow.  Moisture from the gulf will continue to be pulled northward where another two to three inches could fall through parts of Arkansas and western Tennessee and Kentucky.  For us, high pressure building in over the next couple of days will keep that boundary from lifting north into the Great Lakes keeping us mainly dry through Wednesday night. 

A Cool Start to the Week

Clouds associated with a front that has stalled at the southern tip of Illinois will continue moving toward the northeast across Illinois to the south and east of Rockford. With drier air in place from Rockford to the northwest, skies will be partly to mostly clear to the northwest of Rockford. There could be some patchy frost tonight over parts of Stephenson County. The cool weather will continue through the early part of the week. There may even be some patchy frost across parts of north central Illinois tomorrow night depending on the amount of cloud cover. By Wednesday we will see a nice warm up with temfperatures pushing into the low to middle 60's under sunny skies. The next weather system to affect the Stateline will approach on Wednesday night with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. On Thursday there will be a good chance of showers and possibly some thunderstorms with a high around 60 degrees. It will remain unsettled on Friday with a slight chance of showers. On Saturday the next system will approach from the plains, and tap some Gulf moisture increasing chances of showers and thunderstorms once again.