Wednesday’s severe storms brought high winds, hail and heavy rainfall to the area and even a few tornadoes to our north and south. A lot of wind damage was observed in Rock Falls with numerous trees and power lines down. Here’s a map of the storm reports, courtesy of the Chicago National Weather Service. A lot of wind damage reports throughout the region!
An area of showers and a few thunderstorms is currently progressing through the area late this morning, and we’ll continue to run a chance of a few more showers throughout the afternoon so keep the umbrella handy. Temperatures will be held down significantly with a stiff east breeze and plenty of clouds. Expecting highs in the lower 50s this afternoon though it will feel much cooler.
The upcoming weekend will feature a wet and potentially stormy start as an area of low pressure moves up through parts of eastern Iowa Saturday afternoon. A few thunderstorms may develop here locally by Saturday afternoon. Right now the Storm Prediction Center has us in a marginal risk for severe storms, with the primary threats being hail and damaging winds. A slight risk exists out of the area to the southeast where the higher potential is. However, if the low were to shift further west, our severe weather threat here would increase. It will be a much warmer day with highs in the 70s.
We’ll clear the showers and storms out by late Saturday evening paving the way for an improved Sunday with some sunshine expected to return and highs in the 60s. Overall a pleasant end to the weekend! A lot of ups and downs in temperatures next week with a few chances for showers and storms continuing.
