Very dry, cool northeasterly flow held off the incoming rain Sunday for a good portion of the metro area. A solid area of rain continually pushed northeast and tried unsuccessfully much of the afternoon to cross U.S. Interstate 80 into the western and closer-in southern suburbs, evaporating as it fell into the much drier air.
By Sunday evening rainfall amounts south of I-80 were on the order of a tenth to a quarter inch, while north of the I-80 corridor just a trace was reported. Overnight the air to the north was expected to gradually become saturated, allowing rain to reach the ground over much of the metro area by Monday morning.
Clouds and rain expected the first half of Chicago's workweek
As low pressure strengthens and moves slowly northeast out of Missouri into Illinois, clouds and extended periods of rain are likely in Chicago through Wednesday. Best estimates are that heaviest rainfall, perhaps as much as a half to three-quarters of an inch, will likely occur later Tuesday into early Wednesday. A break in the clouds is forecast later in the workweek with a warm-up over the weekend.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
