


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Central Illinois
Issued by NWS Central Illinois
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
48
49
50
993 FXUS63 KILX 230232 AFDILX Area Forecast Discussion...Updated National Weather Service Lincoln IL 832 PM CST Sat Feb 22 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - A prolonged period of mild weather is expected the next several days, with high temperatures generally in the 50s much of the upcoming work week. - While a series of disturbances will move through the region every few days, rain chances are fairly low. The best chance for scattered showers will be Wednesday night, around a 40% chance, but amounts will be light. && .UPDATE... Issued at 832 PM CST Sat Feb 22 2025 Skies are mostly clear and winds are 10kts of less across the area. Overnight lows are forecasted to fall into the lower 20s and based on current dewpoints being around 20 degrees...think a forecast of low 20s still looks good. No update planned this evening. Auten && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 126 PM CST Sat Feb 22 2025 Long-awaited warmup has begun as temperatures have reached the mid 30s over central and southeast Illinois this afternoon. Visible satellite imagery shows a fairly large area of nearly bare ground over the forecast area north of I-70, and this region will be the milder area through Sunday, potentially reaching near 50 degrees in west central Illinois. However, COOP reports and NOHRSC analysis indicates snow depths in southeast Illinois are only around an inch or two, so this will erode nicely this weekend as temperatures still get well into the 40s. With the air mass remaining of Pacific origin much of the upcoming work week, highs in the 50s will be common, close to the 75th percentile from NBM guidance. A look at ensemble temperature anomalies suggest temperatures returning closer to normal for the first weekend of March. The overall weather pattern does not look especially active during the period. While a shortwave drops southeast through the area Monday night, it will be fairly moisture-starved, and rain chances should be limited to around 20-30%. A deeper upper trough digs across the Mississippi Valley Wednesday night with a little more moisture, but nothing of significance (European ensembles show chances of more than 0.10 inch of rain are only around 30-40%). Geelhart && .AVIATION... (For the 00z TAFs through 00z Sunday Evening) Issued at 512 PM CST Sat Feb 22 2025 VFR conditions will prevail at all TAF sites next 24hrs. Cirrus is beginning to advect into the area, but amount looks very limited. Will start PIA and BMI with FEW and then increase to SCT this evening. SPI, DEC, and CMI will start as clear and then FEW this evening. All sites will see scattered cirrus tomorrow morning through afternoon. Winds will remain breezy one more hour with gusts of 20-22kts, but then decrease by 01z. Wind speeds increase again tomorrow with speeds of 10-13kts. Wind direction through the period will be southwest. Auten && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$