Radar — KILX
Surface Analysis — Central U.S. (Central)
Satellite
Nearest monitored road: [Transportation_Name: Motorway] (Primary)
- more seasonable temperatures in place for the next week, highs in the 80S and lows in the 60S.
- a cutoff low moving near il late this week, will likely bring periods of showers and a few thunderstorms friday into this weekend. Severe weather looks unlikely.
Issued at 141 PM CDT tue jul 28 2026
We have entered into a period of much more seasonable temperatures and less humid conditions. The rest of this week into the new week will have highs in the 80S and lows in the 60S. This more seasonable pattern may not last long as the CPC has above normal temperatures for the days 6-10 and 8-14 outlooks.
Wildfire smoke from the fires out west in oregon and washington is riding the ridge. Skies where there aren't clouds will appear hazy from the smoke. The smoke should remain elevated and not come down to the surface. Main effects we will see are vibrant sunrises and sunsets where skies are clearer, so get those cameras ready!
The forecast will be dry in terms of precipitation for the next few days as ridging remains in place off to our west. Moving into friday, the ridging begins to get disturbed as upper wave and surface low pressure moves across the plains into the midwest. High pwats return the illinois as this wave of showers and thunderstorms makes the journey across the region. These showers and thunderstorms could be proficient rain producers. The current QPF for friday through saturday is showing 1-2.5 inches of rainfall, mainly north of i-70, with lesser amounts south of i-70. WPC has a slight risk of excessive rainfall for western il and a marginal risk for eastern il. It does look like the severe risk with this system is low. Mucape values are only a couple hundred j/kg, but bulk SHEAR values are decent. The machine learning models are depicting a lowered to no severe threat late this week. Rain chances continue into the new week next week.
Issued at 1202 AM CDT wed jul 29 2026
VFR conditions expected the next 24 hours, with residual cloud cover near 15kft fading off before sunrise. Northeast winds will increase some by midday across eastern illinois, up to 8-10 knots, diminishing again around sunset.