A warm and windy day ahead for us in the Sauk Valley as a cold front begins to approach the area from the west later this afternoon and evening. Highs today will reach the upper 70s to near 80 as strong southerly winds gust to around 30 MPH at times with a mix of sun and clouds.
Attention turns to the cold front as it enters the area this evening. Currently the Storm Prediction Center has included the western half of our area in a slight risk for severe storms, while parts of Lee county remain in a marginal risk.
There is still some uncertainty with regards to storm evolution this afternoon. Clouds are currently found over the area and these clouds may limit the amount of energy that storms have to work with this evening. If we manage to see a good amount of sun this afternoon a few stronger storms are possible. Currently the highest threat is damaging winds with larger hail a secondary lower threat. These storms will also be moving through an area of increased moisture leading to areas of heavy rainfall as well.
Storms will likely develop after 3pm this afternoon on a scattered basis over the area with another more organized complex developing over Iowa and moving in later this evening posing a risk of damaging winds.
We’ll have further updates as the forecast evolves throughout the day.
