Friday Weather Update: Rain Continues

Showers, some heavy at times, will continue through the afternoon.  Low pressure currently in southern Illinois will continue to draw gulf moisture north through the Mississippi River Valley.  Rainfall amounts over the past 24-36 hours have ranged from as little as a quarter of an inch to nearly three quarters of an inch out west. 

The heaviest of the rain will remain just to the west of the immediate Rockford Metro with locations closer to the Mississippi River receiving some of the higher rainfall totals.  Totals there near an inch or two will be possible before the rain tapers off later tonight.  Flooding will not become a major issue because the rain is coming at a steadier pace than what fell a couple weeks ago back in April.  However, this will likely slow some of the river falls where the heaviest of the rain occurs and may also cause local creeks and streams to rise.  Showers will continue into the evening but become a little more scattered overnight.  Additional showers, and maybe a thunderstorm, will be possible Saturday as the low moves into the lower Ohio River Valley. 

Snow pictures

It may be cooler for us but be thankful you're not out shoveling!

Jennifer Castor sent in these photos Thursday morning from near Rochester, MN.  She said power was out, trees were down and school is closed.

 

 

One of our weather watchers, Ken Stoll, sent in this photo from his niece out in Denver, CO Wednesday afternoon.

Here's a current radar view of what's falling to the north and northwest.  Accumulating snowfall will be as close to us as La Crosse, WI and Waterloo, IA!

 

Clouds and rain beginning to build in

After back-to-back 80 degree weather, today's 60° is going to feel a little chilly.  Adding to that will be the increase in cloud cover and potential for rain and thunderstorms later this morning and afternoon.  Scattered showers have been developing south and west and will lift to the north through Noon.  A few showers have developed south of Rochelle in Lee County.  Occasional rumbles of thunder will be heard with the storm threat increasing this afternoon.

Recapping A Soggy April

April 2013 was a cool and wet month for Rockford. Here's a look at the official stats.

April finished with just under eight inches of total precipitation. That is about 4.5" above normal, which ranks third among Rockford's wettest Aprils.

While May has started off dry, a few inches of rain will be possible for the western parts of the Stateline starting Thursday and going through the weekend. Rockford could pick up around an inch during that same timeframe.

Big Changes In The Forecast

After some gorgeous summer-like weather to kick off the week, some big changes are coming. Here's a hint... keep your umbrella and jacket handy heading into the end of the work week.

Wednesday Evening Radar & Satellite

Here's a look at our next storm system as of early Wednesday evening.

Temps as of 5pm Wednesday

This is a pretty potent system, bringing snow to the central United States. As you can see, temps Wednesday evening are definitely cold enough for snow. While we will see a significant cooldown with this storm, we will only be talking rain heading into the weekend.

Friday will be the coldest day this week, as highs barely creep into the 50s. Fortunately, we will begin a slow warm-up starting this weekend.

The other headline with this storm system will be the potential for more heavy rain. Models are pretty consistent with putting the heaviest rain totals west of Rockford. A few inches of rain will be possible through this weekend for the western parts of the viewing area. Rockford could see up to an inch during that same timespan.

May snowstorm in the works for the Plains and upper Midwest

Snow has been falling across Colorado and Nebraska this morning with a transition beginning to take place from rain/sleet to all snow across parts of Iowa and Minnesota.  In fact, nearly half a foot of snow could fall over south-central Minnesota and northern Wisconsin by Thursday night.  Our in-house model shows nearly 6" of snow for Minneapolis!  That's quite impressive for the first of May!  Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories have been issued for parts of Minnesota and northern Wisconsin.

A very strong Jetstream pattern has set up across the middle of the country with gulf moisture lifting north and cold air moving south out of Canada.  This cold air will become wrapped into a cut-off low pressure system that will spin south of the Stateline this weekend.  Any precipitation that does fall in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin should remain all rain, but the snow won't be that far away in central Iowa.

April: Chilly start but a very warm end

We've experienced quite the range of temperatures and precipitation during the month of April.  After temperatures started off 15° below average at the beginning of the month, Mother Nature gave us a bit of a treat Monday and Tuesday.  Temperatures Tuesday afternoon rose to 87°, just four degrees below the record high of 91°.  Average highs for the end of the month should be right around 67° putting us a good 20° above average yesterday afternoon.  Another 80° day is in store today before a dip back below average by the end of the week.