A Stormy Evening With a Beautiful Easter

A few thunderstorms have started to develop over in Iowa, and are starting to track in our direction.  These thunderstorms are developing along a cold front, and the storms will ride along the front while it progresses towards our area as we head into the evening.  We are still under a marginal risk for severe weather, with a slight risk for severe weather in the western parts of Jo Daviess, Carroll, and Whiteside counties.  These storms are expected to produce gusty winds, areas of heavy rainfall, and could even produce very small-sized hail.  

The 70° temperatures we'll be seeing this evening will help to fuel those thunderstorms as they track into our area, but temperatures will gradually cool down into the 60°s once we head into the late-night hours.  These cooler temperatures will cause these storms to start dying out, but we'll still see some light rain afterwards since there will be a good amount of moisture left over in the atmosphere.  The rain will die down around 1am, with the cold front looking to make a slow pass through our area between 4-7am.  Once the front passes through, clouds will clear out of our area and temperatures will only cool to the low 70°s.  This means we get sunny skies and warm temperatures for Easter Sunday!  

We'll keep those nice conditions for Monday, but more thunderstorms are expected Tuesday afternoon when another cold front moves through, but temperatures will stay in the 60°s for Wednesday with a warm front moving through during the overnight Wednesday night, bringing about more thunderstorms.  The warm front will keep us warm for Thursday, but northerly winds will settle in afterward cooling us down into the 50°s for Friday and Saturday.

                                                                  

Storms Clear Out For Easter

It's been a bit of a stormy end to the afternoon, and unfortunately we'll be seeing some on and off storms as we progress through the evening and overnight.  Temperatures will be on the warmer side with warmth and moisture continuing to move in, keeping our temperatures this evening in the mid to upper 60°s, and overnight temperatures in the low 60°s.  This will help to fuel those thunderstorms as we progress through the night, but as those temperatures gradually cool moving into early tomorrow morning, the storms will die out.  However, the inflow of warmth and moisture will increase for tomorrow afternoon, with temperatures near 80°, allowing for more thunderstorms to develop.  We have a marginal risk for severe weather tomorrow afternoon, with the thunderstorms looking to produce gusty winds, heavy rain, and even small hail.  However, damaging conditions are not expected.  Those storms will stick with us through the overnight tomorrow night, but clear out early Sunday morning when a cold front will pass through.  The front will slightly cool us into the upper 60°s for Easter, but it will also push the clouds out of our area and give us lots of sunshine for the afternoon.

We'll keep the warmth and sunshine for Monday, but another low pressure system moves in on Tuesday and will bring more thunderstorms.  The low will track east early Wednesday morning, and will cool our temperatures down into the upper 50°s for the afternoon.  A weak warm front moves in on Thursday and will bring us some light rain, but temperatures will only warm up to the upper 60°s for the afternoon and the rest of the week.

Easter Weekend Outlook

It's so nice to see the grass really greening up and the trees starting to bud, it's definitely Spring in the Stateline! We enter now into Easter weekend, and overall the forecast is looking very nice!

There were a few isolated showers very early this morning with an elevated warm front that passed through. You can expect mainly dry weather through most of Good Friday, but the rain threat increases late in the day. The surface warm front will bring southeast winds and warmer temperatures with highs in the upper 60's. But the warm front will also bring showers and storms Friday late day and evening, and the rain will continue into the early evening.

Good news is, the rain won't last into your Saturday. We'll even get some sunshine through the afternoon, that along with breezy southerly winds will bring temperatures into the upper 70's to near 80°! Most of Saturday will be dry but more storms will fire up along a cold front Saturday evening. As talked about in the previous post, a few strong storms will be possible. We'll also notice some heavier downpours into the overnight.

Dry air moves in behind the front Sunday morning, making for a very pleasant Easter Sunday. Behind the front, temperatures will still climb into the upper 60's under that mostly sunny skies. The ground might make Easter egg hunts a little soggy, but temperatures will be nice with the sunshine! Check out where temperatures will be Easter morning, in the mid 50's!

Storms Late Saturday Could Come with a Bit of Wind

Rain is in the forecast for the weekend, but it will not be a washout and there should be many dry hours Friday and Saturday.

An elevated warm front will move north Thursday night into Friday morning.  As it does, a few showers are possible overnight Thursday but most should remain dry.

Low pressure will lift northeast out of the south-central Plains during the day Friday.  As it does, it'll pull a warm front from central Illinois into Wisconsin by Friday night.  With the arrival of the front, showers and thunderstorms will increase in coverage through late afternoon and evening.  Severe weather is not expected, but heavier rain could fall with any of the thunderstorms.

The majority of Saturday is looking to be dry with just an isolated shower/storm chance during the day.  Storm coverage will increase west of the Mississippi River ahead of a cold front that will move southeast from the northern Plains.  Dew points Saturday will climb close to 60 degrees and with the passage of the cold front there could be a few stronger storms over parts of northwest Illinois Saturday evening.  While the overall threat for severe weather locally remains low, there could be a few stronger wind producing storms.  So make sure you pay close attention to the forecast, especially if you're going to be out, over the weekend.

By Sunday the cold front will be moving south of Rockford bringing an end to the rain.

Timing in the Rain into the Weekend

Wednesday will be a perfect day to take your lunch outside, or maybe even take an extended lunch. Temperatures will be comfortable by noon with sunshine and a light southeast breeze. Get your fill of the sunshine, because we'll have some cloudier days coming up that linger into the weekend.

It will also be a bit soggy by Thursday morning and into the weekend, but it won't be a total washout. Here's a break down of the upcoming rain:

An incoming disturbance will bring chance for rain after midnight as a warm front slides south of the area. Rain with embedded storms will continue into Thursday morning and early afternoon. But the front will stall across southern Illinois, and rain will be focused ahead of that for the rest of Thursday. Rain totals will amount to about .50-.75" by Thursday afternoon.

By Friday that front will lift north over northern Illinois as a warm front, and will bring highs near 70°. But, it will also bring a chance for showers and storms ahead of it, especially Friday evening. There is a chance though we could get a few showers or storms by the late afternoon.

Saturday will stay fairly dry, there is a small chance for rain, but once again rain and storms are more likely in the evening with incoming cold front. Temperatures though on Saturday will climb into the mid 70's as we sit in the 'warm sector. It will be cooler but still very nice for Easter Sunday with a little more sunshine and highs in the upper 60's.

Big Temperature Change in Just One Day

Quite the temperature swing from Monday to Tuesday.

Highs Monday reached the low 70's, only to drop into the low 50's following the passage of a strong cold front.  Abundant cloud cover and gusty northwest wind also helped keep afternoon highs on the cooler side.

Tuesday should be the coldest day we feel out of the next seven.  Highs will warm back into the 60's and reach the low 70's for the weekend.  Average highs this time in April are nearing 60 degrees.

Warming Up For Easter Weekend

Temperatures are looking to be a little bit cooler today as we'll only make it into the mid 50°s for our high this afternoon.  The reason our temperatures are cooler today is because of this high pressure system out to the west, which is channeling cooler air into our area.  High pressures systems have winds that move clockwise around them, and since the high is out west, it's pulling cooler air out of the north down into our area.  However, this high is going to track east tomorrow, where we'll see the exact opposite of what's happening today.  The high will be drawing in warmer air out of the south, which will bring our temperatures into the 60°s for tomorrow and Thursday.  The high will also help to keep our weather calm and quiet for the next couple of days.

The high will track east on Thursday, but then a low pressure system will develop near the plains Thursday afternoon.  This low will help continue the channeling of warmer air into our area.  Low pressure systems have counterclockwise winds around them, and since it's out west it will pull warmer air into our area for Friday and the weekend.  However, all the warm and humid air channeling into our area comes with a consequence, as this will allow for some rain Friday morning, followed by some thunderstorms in the afternoon.  The storms will stay with us into the late night hours, but we will get a short break from them early Saturday morning, before more thunderstorms develop for Saturday afternoon.  Even though Easter Weekend will be off to a rough start, a cold front associated with that low will pass through our area early Sunday morning, pushing the storms out and clearing our skies for Easter Sunday.  The cold front won't do much to our temperatures, so we'll get to keep those 70° temperatures for Easter to accompany the sunshine.