Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Central Illinois

Home |  Current Version |  Previous Version |  Text Only |  Print | Product List |  Glossary On
Versions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47
147
FXUS63 KILX 131048
AFDILX

Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
548 AM CDT Mon Oct 13 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

 - Little to no rain is expected through Friday, resulting in
   continued drought conditions.

- Better chances for beneficial rain (40-60%) return by the
  weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 211 AM CDT Mon Oct 13 2025

Surface analysis early this morning shows an expansive area of
ridging stretched from southeast Canada southwestward through the
Great Lakes States. Further west, a weak cold front attached to a
low in south-central Manitoba stretches from the Upper Mississippi
Valley into central Kansas. Moisture transport near and ahead of the
front has resulted in scattered showers, with light radar echoes
noted west of the IL River as of 2 am. However, much drier air in
place over a good portion of central Illinois has prevented a lot of
this from reaching the ground with just a few ASOS/AWOS sites
reporting rain occasionally. The latest suite of CAMS suggest most
of this activity will dry  up as it approaches I-55 by mid morning.

Aside from the low chances (<20%) for rain in west-central IL this
morning, surface ridging will keep us mostly dry through the
remainder of the week. The cold front will slowly drop south of the
area by Wednesday. Despite this, daily highs will continue to run on
the warm side peaking in the middle 70s to low 80s each day this
week. This is about 10-15 degrees warmer than normal.

A pattern change arrives by the weekend, bringing better chances for
beneficial rainfall. Water vapor imagery shows an deep trough
spinning over the Pacific Northwest coast. This system will dive
into the southwest US then deepen as it ejects northward into the
Northern Plains states later this week. Surface ridging will get
pushed east of here, with a cold front approaching from the west
by Saturday/Sunday. Somewhat better Gulf moisture will advect
northward ahead of the front on Saturday, which should ultimately
bring more meaningful rainfall and perhaps some thunderstorms to
the area. The latest NBM probabilities highlight a 40-60% chance
for 0.5" or more of rain with about a 30-40% chance for 1" or more
in southeast parts of the state.

Temperatures return to seasonal normals behind the weekend system
with high temperatures on Sunday looking to peak in the middle to
upper 60s. In fact, the ensemble mean from the ECMWF AIFS suggests
cooler temperatures are favored through at least the first half of
next week. A brief glance at deterministic and ensemble guidance
shows a more progressive pattern to close out the month, potentially
bringing additional chances for rain.

NMA

&&

.AVIATION...  (For the 12z TAFs through 12z Tuesday Morning)
Issued at 548 AM CDT Mon Oct 13 2025

There is a low chance (<20%) for isolated showers in west-central
Illinois through mid to late morning. Winds will be light through
the period with the the direction veering from south-southeast this
morning to east-northest by tonight. Cloud cover will remain
persistent along a slow moving cold front with ceilings generally
ranging from 4-8k ft.

NMA

&&

.ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.
&&

$$