It was another toasty day across the Stateline Saturday! Temperatures made their way into the 90s for the second straight day in Rockford. The last time we saw highs reach the 90° for two straight days was last August! Normal highs this time of year are much closer to the upper 70s.

Things cool off during the night, as they have the previous few nights. We reach down into the low 60s once again. Winds will remain light out of the Northeast, keeping our humidity levels down.

A stray shower cannot be ruled out late into the night and early Sunday morning as a weak cold front passes. If we see any rain, it will be very isolated and will not last very long.

Sunday brings warmer temperatures again, but not nearly as hot as Friday and Saturday were. Afternoon highs only reach the mid-80s rather than the low 90s. Sunshine will be a bit more filtered, as we could see the return of some wildfire smoke to the area.

Wildfires are burning across parts of Southeastern Canada, leading to hazy skies across the Great Lakes area. Some smoke in the upper levels of the atmosphere may drift its way toward our area Sunday and Monday, giving us some filtered sunshine through the smoke.

Our next chance for rain comes late Monday and early Tuesday with our next cold front. Rain will not be very widespread or heavy, but might give us enough to slow down the expanding drought conditions across Northern and Central Illinois.

The warmer weather is here for a few more days, but slightly cooler Sunday and Monday than it was Friday and Saturday. After Monday night’s cold front, highs return much closer to normal for this time of year as we close out the week ahead.

Warmer than normal temperatures look likely in the meantime, but the long-term outlook from the Climate Prediction Center is actually slightly favoring below normal temperatures toward the middle of June. Average temperatures that time of year is typically around 80°.

While we are still quite warm in the short-term, high temperatures return closer to normal for this time of year as we get into the middle and end of the week ahead. Rain chances are few and far between, but we do have a small chance very early Sunday morning, and once again Monday night/Tuesday morning. Another small chance for rain might work into the area next weekend.