It has been another beautiful September afternoon as temperatures have warmed into the low 70s area wide with a breeze from the west. There has been a little more filtered sunshine this afternoon thanks to clouds aloft, but also smoke moving in from the Canadian wildfires.

As the upper-level ridge continues to build overhead Sunday evening and night, the hazy skies will last through Monday morning before clearing through the rest of the week.  We'll maintain a mostly clear sky through the evening as overnight lows fall into the low 50s once again but rising into the low 80s Monday afternoon. High pressure over the Great Lakes and Southeast will work to keep conditions dry and mostly sunny.

Temperatures throughout the week will warm into the mid and upper 80s, possibly reaching 90 degrees in some locations Wednesday and Thursday. Cloud cover will slowly begin to increase by the upcoming weekend as moisture from a system in the Gulf moves north. Right now, our rain chances heading into the upcoming weekend look low, with only a small chance for showers Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday evening weather update

Temperatures Saturday afternoon were rather chilly, only warming into the mid and upper 60s despite the sun-filled skies. We'll see a few clouds move through overnight which will give way to some higher-level cloud cover Sunday morning. Overnight lows will dip into the low 40s, the coolest we've felt in several months!

As high pressure continues to dominate the skies through the week temperatures will continue to warm, reaching the mid-70s Sunday afternoon and then warming into the 80s next week. In fact, temperatures are going to warm into the mid and upper 80s thanks to plenty of sunshine and a dry air mass.

High pressure stretching from the Great Lakes down into the Southeast will block gulf moisture from reaching the Midwest and Great Lakes. This, combined with the relatively dry ground, will help temperatures warm rather efficiently during the afternoon. It also means that overnight lows will be very comfortable, falling into the 50s most nights.

High temperatures by the middle to end of the week could even be approaching 90 degrees in some locations. For now, the current forecast has 87 Wednesday, 88 Thursday, and 87 Friday. By the weekend, leftover moisture from what could turn into our next tropical system currently in the western Gulf of Mexico will try to lift north through the Mississippi Valley. However, it'll encounter dry air likely falling apart some as it nears northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

So, until then our dry conditions will continue, and our short-term precipitation deficits will continue to grow.

Fall like temperatures at night through a cooler weekend

 As temperatures continue to drop through the end of the week into the weekend, Saturday will bring our first 60-degree high temperature reading since May of this year. Along with that the nights will continue to drop below the 50's as well into the 40's bringing fall like weather at night.

As of 5:30 a.m. on Saturday temperatures are well into the 40'sand even low 40's in some locations. With a cold low-pressure system just to our east, this is bringing in cool northern flow aloft and near the surface helping drive these cools temperatures. Not only that but a process known as radiational cooling will occur through the nights helping temperatures drop even further.

With nights like this, where skies are clear to mostly clear, solar radiation from the day before is able to escape the surface and back into the upper atmosphere dropping temperatures near the surface. Cloud cover often acts as a "blanket" holding temperatures near the surface, but after the passage of Thursday's cold front moisture has been very low helping aid in clear skies.

This process will continue through the weekend into Saturday night and Sunday morning as we may drop down into the 40's once again. But as we go through the weekend some upper-level moisture will still be in place allowing for some cloud cover to develop through the afternoon hours this weekend. But besides that, cool and dry air from the north will continue to move over the area Saturday keeping us in the 60's. But the 60's don't look to stick around long as after another cool night Sunday will get back up into the 70's with even warmer weather looking to return. 
 
 

Friday morning weather update

Cool winds out of the northwest and north take over following Thursday's frontal passage. This will help bring a brief switch of seasons as we jump into the first weekend of September.

Winds become breezy this afternoon, gusting up to 25 mph at times. This will leave afternoon highs in the upper 60s, closer to the 70° mark.  

Along with today's fall-like chill comes the chance for a few widely-scattered showers, mainly during the mid-afternoon and early-evening hours. As sunset approaches, chances will come to an end and skies, allowing skies to clear up just in time for Friday evening’s football games. If that's on the agenda for this evening, you’ll want to put on an extra warm layer as temperatures are expected to fall into the 50s for football festivities. Temperatures will eventually land in the chilly mid 40s by sunrise Saturday morning.

Sunshine will be quick to take over our skies for Saturday, though an organize and chilly northerly wind will limit highs even further. 

Highs on Saturday will land in the upper 60s, marking the coolest day in Rockford since May 9th. Sunday begins in the low 40s, though a wind shift to the west and southwest will bring improvements to round out the weekend. Under a mixture of cloud and sun, expect highs to peak in the low 70s.

Thursday afternoon weather update

 

Sunshine early in the day allowed afternoon temperatures to warm into the low to mid 80s, but those numbers are beginning to drop across NW Illinois as a cold front moves through the region.  Showers and isolated thunderstorms also developed along and ahead of the front but have quickly faded away, running into the drier air mass over northern Illinois.

Through the rest of the afternoon and early evening

we will see a slow climb in moisture (dew point temperatures), along with a slight strengthening in the winds aloft. These two factors, along with the approaching cold front, may allow for a slight uptick in shower activity east of Rockford after 5pm/6pm. But only scattered showers are expected.

Drier air moving back in behind the front will allow skies to turn partly cloudy overnight as lows dip into the mid-50s. Cooler air will then begin to settle in

Friday with some sunshine for the afternoon. The combination of the sunny skies and colder air aloft will cause clouds to build throughout the day, allowing scattered showers to develop into the evening. Afternoon highs will warm into the upper 60s and low 70s, falling into the mid-40s overnight.

Rain chances return ahead of weekend cooldown

For a 5th day in a row, northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin was treated to beautiful blue skies, lots of sunshine, and pleasant temperatures. 

Changes are on the horizon as high pressure continues to loosen its grip on our atmosphere. This will allow a cold front to sweep through sometime this evening, resulting in our next chance for showers but also our next shot at fall-like temperatures.

Thursday begins with plenty of sunshine, though we can expect a gradual increase in cloud cover to take place shortly after the midday hours. Forecast models then show a few isolated showers, possibly a thunderstorm or two sparking up along said cold front. This would mainly be for the late afternoon and evening hours. Any rain that does occur will be brief in nature and should end well before the midnight hour. Ahead of today's frontal passage, afternoon temperatures should peak in low 80s. 

More changes follow today's cold front as the coolest air of the season thus far filters in. Cloud cover hangs tight for a good chunk of our Friday, though sunshine will occasionally peak through. 

That, along with a rather organized northerly breeze will leave afternoon temperatures struggling to climb out of the 60s. Now, the newly introduced cooler air aloft will aid in the development of an additional round of showers, mainly during the afternoon or early evening hours. Temperatures aloft continue to cool into the weekend, leaving overnight lows Friday in the mid 40s, and afternoon highs Saturday into the upper 60s. Coolest air arrives Saturday night, landing lows in the low 40s. For those wondering, these are temperatures we typically see in early October.

Wednesday afternoon weather update

 Blue sky as far as the eye can see Wednesday afternoon as temperatures have warmed into the upper 70s and low 80s! It has been an absolutely gorgeous day to get out and enjoy. Now, if we could only get a little rain to go along with it.

For the rest of the evening skies will remain clear as temperatures fall through the 70s, down into the mid-50s overnight. Skies are expected to remain mostly clear heading into Thursday morning.

Cloud cover will begin to increase Thursday afternoon ahead of a cold front that'll move in late afternoon and evening. As the front moves through, scattered showers will be possible with a few isolated thunderstorms. Severe weather is not expected. The front will move through between 4pm and 8pm, shifting winds around to the northwest Thursday night.

The rain Thursday won't be too widespread, adding up to only 0.10 to at most 0.25 inches. Skies will then turn partly cloudy Thursday night as temperatures fall back into the 50s, warming to the low 70s Friday afternoon. Spotty rain showers will be likely once again Friday afternoon and evening.