September 23 Forecast

Sorry it's been a while. Thanks for the patience. Here is your forecast:


FORECAST FOR DEKALB AND VICINITY, 9/23/09, 2:30 PM

Rest of Today...mostly cloudy. High of 72 degrees. 5-10 mph breeze out of the north, northeast.

Tonight...remaining mostly cloudy, with possible fog. Low of 59 degrees. Winds persist at 5-10 mph out of the north.

Tomorrow...mostly cloudy, with a possibility of showers. High of 70 degrees. Winds pick up to 10 mph out of the northeast.

Extended Outlook...Friday through Tuesday...

Friday...mostly cloudy, with a possibility of rain. Lows around 50. Highs in the low 70's.

Saturday...mostly cloudy. Good chance for rain, with possible thundestorms. Lows in the lower 50's. Highs in the upper 60's.

Sunday...partly cloudy, with a slight chance of showers. Low in the lower 50's. Highs around 70.

Monday...partly cloudy, with showers still possible. Lows right around 50. Highs in the upper 60's.

Tuesday...partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 40's. Highs in the upper 60's.

*********************************************
CLIMATE DATA: Yesterday's High 76 degrees; last night's low 60 degrees. The average high/low temperature is 68/44. We had .44" of rain at the DeKalb campus over the last 24 hours as of 7 AM this morning.

We have had 1.07" inches of rain this month. On average, we should see 3.47" of liquid precipitation by September 30. We have had 32.41" of rain as of this point this year. On average we should have seen 29.80" of liquid precipitation by September 30.
*********************************************
SEVERE/HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK: Fog is the primary severe weather concern at this time. Areas of fog will appear overnight, so take caution if you are out at night.
*********************************************
PRECIPITATION: Friday looks like the day where we will see rain. It looks like the area will see about .25"-.50" of rain.
*********************************************
FORECAST DISCUSSION: Currently, there is a big trough of low pressure in the jet stream. It is sitting right over Kansas and Nebraska, and it will be our main forecast issue through this week.

This morning's surface map shows the cold front that passed over our area last night. The low is over Lake Huron, with the front trailing across Ohio, Indiana, the southern tip of Illinois, and back into mid Arkansas, where another low is sitting. This system continues to trail into the Gulf of Mexico.

The second system is the low placed over Hudson Bay, with a cold front moving south across Ontario. This may find its way down to us later this week. There is also a low centered over Kansas, which will impact us later this week. Finally, there are a few high pressures marked over the Rocky Mountains.

Our first concern is the low over Hudson Bay. This system is making a southerly push, and should be across the northern Illinois region by Thursday morning. This system may clip the edge of the area, and may produce some rain showers Thursday.

Friday our main concern is the low pressure system over Kansas. Friday morning looks like the time when this system will hit. There will still be good cloud coverage, so we will not have enough instability for organized thunderstorms. However, our current dewpoints are fairly high, and with the system hitting, we will have enough moisture and lift to expect rain showers. It looks like this will bring anywhere between .25" and .50" of rain to the area.

This system will be staying around the area Saturday and Sunday, so we can expect to see additional rainfall this weekend. However, this should not be too intense of a rain event. Weekend totals, including Friday, look to be around 1". There is a small chance of thunderstorms this weekend, but nothing severe is expected.

The system should be out of the area by Monday, and we may see increased winds behind the system. On the other hand, a high pressure system will be moving towards our area, so we should be seeing some sunshine Monday and Tuesday.

So for the next few days, be prepared for cloudy skies, possible showers, and highs around the low 70's and upper 60's. Get ready to get some rain this weekend, but remember, sunnier skies are coming early next week.

*********************************************
Chuck Richie II
Northern Illinois University meteorology student
e-mail: crichie2@gmail.com


I added some additional links for some fun! Now you have a moving surface forecast map, and forecast rain totals! Hope you enjoyed it!