Crystal Lake, Illinois 7 Day Weather Forecast

Wx Forecast - Wx Discussion - Wx Aviation

922
FXUS63 KDVN 221122
AFDDVN

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
522 AM CST Sat Feb 22 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Warmer temperatures are on the way today, lasting through the
  upcoming week

- A few systems look to bring chances (20-40%) of light precipitation,
  in the form of rain, to our region Monday night and again
  Wednesday into Wednesday night

&&

.SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
Issued at 201 AM CST Sat Feb 22 2025

Dry conditions will continue today through tonight, with our well-
advertised warm-up ramping up. We will continue to see southwesterly
flow at the surface, which should help enhance warm air advection
across the area. In fact, both the GEFS and ECMWF ensemble means
show 850 mb level temperatures warming above the freezing mark for
the first time in several days tonight. The southwest winds could be
breezy at times, with gusts between 15 to 25 mph today for most
locations as the boundary layer mixes. Mostly clear skies are
expected, with highs warming to around 30 northeast to the upper 30s
southwest.

Tonight`s lows will actually be closer to yesterday`s high
temperatures, dipping to the upper teens north to the lower 20s
south. Even warmer temperatures are on the way for Sunday and
beyond!

&&

.LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
Issued at 201 AM CST Sat Feb 22 2025

By Sunday, our period of warmer temperatures will be in full swing,
with continued southerly flow. Highs Sunday will warm to the 40s for
most locations, with even some upper 40s north to middle 50s south
by Monday! The GEFS and ECMWF ensemble mean 850 mb level
temperatures both show values around 7 to 9 degrees C by Monday
morning. These values would be around the 90th percentile of the
ECMWF ensemble 850 mb temperature percentiles and the SPC sounding
database, so it will be quite warm for late February. Above freezing
dew point temperatures return by Sunday and particularly on Monday,
which should help accelerate melting of the current snowpack, and
that could lead to some bouts of fog for Sunday night and Monday
night due to extra moisture in the boundary layer, so something to
watch for early next week. Looks like the warmth will only continue
throughout the week, with highs remaining in the 40s to lower 50s
through Friday.

In terms of precipitation, we continue to see a potential for light
precipitation, albeit lower confidence, as a few systems look to
pass through our region, beginning Monday night and early Tuesday
morning as a mid-level shortwave trough dives southeast towards our
region. The global models are actually a bit more spread out now in
terms of the spatial coverage of QPF than they were 24 hours ago,
with the 22.00z ECMWF progging more precipitation than the 22.00z
GFS and GEM as the associated mid-level trough appears to be a bit
farther south compared to the GFS and GEM. LREF/NBM ensembles for
measurable precipitation (0.01" or more) chances remain pretty
muted, with generally only around a 10-30% chance and precip type
being all rain. We will have a slightly higher chance (20-40%) of
precipitation Wednesday as a broader wave crosses our region. This
shortwave appears to be accompanied by slightly better moisture,
leading to a higher QPF signal. Again, there are some differences
among the guidance for the areal coverage and timing of the
precipitation, but it seems likely for precipitation to begin as all
rain. The potential for a brief change-over to snow near the end of
the event appears to be even less likely now compared to 24 hours
ago, with the NBM exceedance probabilities of measurable snow
(0.1" or more) now less than 10% across the area, so it looks
very unlikely to see any flakes.

&&

.AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SUNDAY/...
Issued at 522 AM CST Sat Feb 22 2025

VFR conditions continue throughout the TAF period. Some breezy
southwest winds are expected during the daylight hours today as
atmospheric mixing increases. Gusts to around 20 to 25 knots
are possible for most locations. Otherwise, mostly clear skies
are expected, with perhaps some high clouds filtering in later
this morning and again late tonight.

&&

.DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IA...None.
IL...None.
MO...None.

&&

$$

SHORT TERM...Schultz
LONG TERM...Schultz
AVIATION...Schultz