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.
Dailey: November 2009 Archives
Much of the work week looks to be on the cool side with periods of cloudiness as minor weather disturbances move through. The upper-air flow pattern becomes more northwesterly, steering cooler air into the Midwest and holding milder air well to the south of the Ohio River. The jet stream will shift north by Friday with a weaker westerly flow aloft over Illinois, allowing milder air to ride southerly surface winds into northeast Illinois. While showers will be in the forecast off and on this week, expected rainfall should be on the light side. Thus runoff into rivers and streams will be primarily from the saturated soils, allowing for at least a little drying as the week goes on. Temperatures in the 60s and gusty winds over the coming weekend will also help to dry the soils, but again be tempered somewhat by the possibility of scattered showers.
Flood advisories
Flood advisories remain up for many rivers in states bordering on the Mississippi River from Louisiana all the way north to Illinois and Iowa. Most rivers in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana are running close to bankfull, but the flood threat is farther to the south, the nearest being at LaSalle on the Illinois River.
Flood advisories
Flood advisories remain up for many rivers in states bordering on the Mississippi River from Louisiana all the way north to Illinois and Iowa. Most rivers in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana are running close to bankfull, but the flood threat is farther to the south, the nearest being at LaSalle on the Illinois River.
