


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Central Illinois
Issued by NWS Central Illinois
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065 FXUS63 KILX 172325 AFDILX Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Lincoln IL 625 PM CDT Sun Aug 17 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Hot and humid conditions will return area-wide Monday afternoon with heat indices peaking around 100 to 105 degrees. Heat and humidity will persist for portions of the area mainly south of I-72 Tuesday before more seasonable conditions return midweek. - There will be occasional chances (20-50%) for showers and storms through late Tuesday. At this time, the severe threat appears low, but locally heavy rain cannot be ruled out. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 201 PM CDT Sun Aug 17 2025 A cold pool from overnight and morning convection surged across central Illinois this morning putting a damper on the hottest temperatures that would have otherwise occurred this afternoon. Still, we were able to recover enough for heat indices to push to near 100 degrees as of 2pm obs. With additional clearing and recovery, we may marginally reach triple digit heat indices this afternoon, thus will let the advisory ride as-is through this evening despite the possibility that some spots may not quite reach criteria. Note: local single day Heat Advisory criteria is 105 degrees: however, there is a secondary criteria of prolonged heat with 4 days of 100+ degree heat index. Meanwhile, the aforementioned cold pool has pushed to near the Mississippi River this afternoon and latest runs of the HRRR and NAM Nest suggesting this will be the focus for isolated to scattered thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Storms will push east or southeast off of this boundary into portions of central Illinois. Strong upper ridge will remain over the mid Mississippi Valley Monday and should allow heat indices to peak in the 100-105 degree range area-wide. There remains some uncertainty around convective trends that could impact temps Monday, but unstable, albeit weakly forced, conditions will keep an isolated PoP mention (20-25%) in the forecast for much of the day. LREF probs for exceeding 100 degree Heat Index runs around 70-80 percent west of a Peoria to Springfield line Monday but quickly tapers off further east. Given the uncertainty, will wait to see how convection through the rest of today into tonight plays out to get a better feel for where headlines may be needed Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday, a series of shortwaves will help to break down the upper ridge locally as it starts to retrograde back towards the Desert Southwest. As northwest flow aloft overspreads central Illinois, the heat and humidity will begin to be shunted south across the area, replaced by more seasonable conditions with highs in the 80s. Precip chances will ramp up Tue/Wed as a slow moving surface cold front sags south across the region. Ahead of the front, moderately strong instability should remain in place across central Illinois, though deep layer shear will be on the weaker side precluding a more organized severe weather risk. Still wouldn`t rule out some pulse severe thunderstorms with localized downburst winds the primary concern. High pressure builds back across the Upper Midwest and will provide fair weather conditions across central Illinois through the end of the work week and the upcoming weekend. Thursday through Saturday are favored to remain dry with temps topping out in the low to mid 80s. Slightly lower humidity levels will also be in place due to the northerly flow. Deubelbeiss && .AVIATION... (For the 00z TAFs through 00z Monday Evening) Issued at 625 PM CDT Sun Aug 17 2025 Storms are scattered across the northern third of Illinois early this evening, and the threat may drift southward to KPIA/KBMI for a time mid to late evening. Will include PROB30 mentions for TSRA at both sites. VFR conditions otherwise prevail. Late in the period, potential for thunderstorms increases as a cold front approaches from the northwest. Can`t rule out something developing by 00z, but enough uncertainty to preclude a mention in the TAF`s for this cycle. Geelhart && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Heat Advisory until 8 PM CDT this evening for ILZ027>031-036>038- 040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073. && $$