Tuesday… a mix of clouds and sunshine early, becoming mostly cloudy by afternoon. High temperature of 67 degrees.
Tuesday night… cloudy with showers and thunderstorms beginning after 9 PM, changing to snow after 3 AM. Low of 30 degrees.
Wednesday…mostly cloudy with snow ending in the morning. Some minor snow accumulations around 1″ possible. High of 34 degrees.
Wednesday night… partly cloudy with any lingering rain or snow ending early in the evening. Low of 19 degrees.
Thursday… clearing skies with a high temperature of 39 degrees.
Thursday night… clear skies with a low of 30 degrees.
Friday… mostly sunny with a high of 52 degrees.
Friday night… partly cloudy skies with a low of 33 degrees.
Saturday… partly cloudy with a high of 48 degrees.
Discussion: Another beautiful early spring day on Tuesday before another storm system brings a mixed bag of thunderstorms, rain, and heavy wet snow to the area.
A cold front will slowly sink into the area, but warm southerly flow ahead of a deepening low pressure system will keep temperatures near 60 degrees during the afternoon. After sunset, thunderstorms and heavy rain should begin developing along the cold front as it pushes into the area. The best chance for any thunder in the Champaign-Urbana area would be between 9 PM and midnight on Tuesday. Afterward, a moderate to heavy rain should continue into the night before transitioning into a heavy wet snow that should last into the morning hours. While some more significant accumulations of 4″ or more are possible to our north, I do believe the CU area should see no more than 1-2″ of heavy wet snow, before it tapers off during the day on Wednesday.
Skies should clear quickly behind the system on Wednesday evening, and remain mostly clear through the day on Thursday. As temperatures warm back into the 40s and 50s on Thursday and Friday, any accumulating snow should quickly melt away.
An updated discussion on thunder and snow chances will be posted early on Tuesday morning.
Sky Drama 