East Galesburg, Illinois Weather Forecast Discussion

490
FXUS63 KILX 050521
AFDILX
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
1221 AM CDT Fri Sep 5 2025
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Smoke from wildfires west of the Rockies will spill overhead
  tonight...creating a hazy overcast. Low-level air quality will
  not be significantly impacted.
- Below normal temperatures in the 60s and 70s will prevail
  through next Monday before readings climb back above normal into
  the middle to perhaps upper 80s by the middle and end of next
  week.
&&
.SHORT TERM...(Tonight through Friday)
Issued at 234 PM CDT Thu Sep 4 2025
19z/2pm visible satellite imagery shows a thick plume of smoke
across Nebraska/Kansas. While surface visibilities have occasionally
been reduced to 5-6 miles along the leading edge of the smoke across
far western Iowa/Missouri, it appears the majority of the smoke is
elevated. The HRRR near-surface smoke density is currently
maximized where visbys are reduced, but the density tends to
decrease as the smoke shifts eastward and pushes into the Illinois
River Valley this evening. Meanwhile vertically integrated smoke
values are significantly higher and remain high as they spread
across all of central and southeast Illinois tonight. Given upstream
obs and the consistent signal from the HRRR, think the main impact
from the smoke will be a hazy overcast...with little to no air
quality issues at ground level. Have added patchy smoke to the
forecast across the Illinois River Valley where near-surface
values are highest and have increased sky cover everywhere
accordingly.
Low pressure tracking eastward out of the Dakotas across the Upper
Midwest will pull a cold front southward into Illinois late
tonight. The strongest forcing with this feature will remain
further north closer to the low track and deep-layer moisture will
be completely lacking. Am therefore expecting a mostly dry
forecast, with perhaps a few light sprinkles north of a Macomb to
Lacon line around midnight.
Once the front passes, northwesterly winds throughout the depth of
the atmosphere will push the elevated smoke out of the area by
midday Friday. Meanwhile, frontogenetic forcing north of the
surface boundary will result in overcast conditions with one or
more bands of light rain showers. The forcing is strongest within
the 700-500mb layer from Macomb eastward to Bloomington during the
morning...then shifts southward and weakens by afternoon. While
forecast soundings show a dry boundary layer, think the strong
forcing aloft will be enough to squeeze out a few showers and a
couple hundredths of an inch of rainfall. Most CAMs focus very
light showers north of I-72 and west of I-55 Friday morning...then
further E/SE across the remainder of the area during the
afternoon. Models have been consistently showing renewed
frontogenetic forcing Friday night...primarily along/south of I-70
where chance PoPs will linger through the night. Will need to keep
a close eye on future model runs, as PoPs may need to be spread
further northward to the I-72 corridor depending on the
strength/track of the upper-level forcing.
Barnes
.LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday)
Issued at 234 PM CDT Thu Sep 4 2025
Once the surface front drops well south of the Ohio River and high
pressure builds in from the north, an extended period of cool and
dry weather will be on tap this weekend. High temperatures on
Saturday and Sunday will only reach the lower to middle 70s while
overnight lows dip into the lower to middle 40s. The atmosphere
will gradually modify...with highs slowly climbing back into the
upper 70s and lower 80s by Tuesday. After that, medium range
models show upper heights rising sharply...with a significant
upper ridge building over the Tennessee/Ohio River Valleys. This
will lead to a return to more summer-like readings in the middle
to upper 80s by the middle and end of next week.
Barnes
&&
.AVIATION...  (For the 06z TAFs through 06z Friday Night)
Issued at 1221 AM CDT Fri Sep 5 2025
A cold front is entering west-central IL late tonight, which will
bring a period of unsettled weather to the area through Friday.
Winds will veer from south-southwest to west-northwest by mid
morning with gusts up to 25 kts common through the afternoon. A few
showers will develop behind the front, though these will be high
based and are not expected to impact ceilings or visibility. Winds
should ease by Friday evening as speeds fall below 10 kts.
NMA
&&
.ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.
&&
$$

NWS ILX Office Area Forecast Discussion