It was another pleasant fall-like day in the Stateline, with highs reaching just a touch above normal for this time of year across the area. High temperatures reached the upper 70s and low 80s for most, just a bit above the normal highs of mid-70s.

The night tonight features warmer temperatures than the last few nights, when we fell to the low and mid-40s in Rockford. Tonight, lows only drop to the mid-50s under increasing clouds. Rain chances follow, mainly after 4AM.

Tomorrow brings slightly cooler temperatures compared to Friday, with highs returning to the mid-70s. We will see more cloud cover as well, with light rain early in the day followed by scattered showers and a few thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening.

Futurecast shows the light rain early Saturday morning, some dry time mid-day, and then scattered thunderstorms possible for the afternoon and evening. Overall, shower coverage will remain limited through the day, leading to plenty of dry time during the day.

Along the front, a thunderstorm or two could become severe, with gusty winds being the main threat. The coverage and confidence of storms will not be high, but remain weather aware Saturday afternoon and evening anyways!

Total rainfall this weekend may not add up to much, especially outside of thunderstorms. Generally speaking, 0.25″ to 0.5″ of rain is possible, with higher amounts possible along the thunderstorm tracks.

Total rainfall this weekend may not be that much, but any rain we see would be great news for many of us dealing with very dry conditions. Over the last few months, we have seen nearly 7″ less rainfall than our climatological normals. This includes June and August seeing less than 2″ of rainfall each month, and only 0.59″ so far through the first half of September.

As a result of the dry weather from the last few months, drought conditions have continued to persist in the Stateline. Most of the area is now experiencing Moderate Drought, with areas near Rockford, Freeport, Beloit, and Janesville experiencing Severe Drought. Portions of Green, Rock, and Northern Winnebago Counties are experiencing Extreme Drought.

Luckily, the overall pattern is slightly favoring above normal precipitation toward the end of the month. The Climate Prediction Center is highlighting much of the Northern and Central parts of the country to likely see above normal precipitation between the 21st and 25th.

In that same time span, the CPC is also heavily favoring above normal temperatures. Normal temperatures fall to the low 70s by the end of the month, so we will likely be seeing weather warmer than that during that time.

In the short term, temperatures hover near or below normal throughout the weekend with rain and storm chances along a cold front Saturday, followed by isolated showers Sunday. Temperatures gradually warm back above normal, reaching the 80s for a few days straight toward the end of the week.