Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Central Illinois
Issued by NWS Central Illinois
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728 FXUS63 KILX 051116 AFDILX Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Lincoln IL 516 AM CST Fri Dec 5 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - While another bitterly cold night is ongoing, some relief is expected today through the weekend. Highs today in the upper 20s to mid 30s and lows in the upper teens to mid 20s. - A series of disturbances will bring precipitation chances every few days through next week. The first one arrives Saturday night, bringing some snow. There is a 40-70% chance of greater than 2 inches of snow north of a Havana to Bloomington line with this system. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 201 AM CST Fri Dec 5 2025 The freezer door has been left open tonight. Temperatures north of I- 70 have dropped below 0 degrees in places. Luckily, the winds have been light or calm, so the wind chills haven`t been much worse than the actual temperatures. This evening`s 00z sounding did not support dense fog development with a very dry profile. However, there are patches of fog developing. Where there is fog, there could be slick spots as the moisture freezes to surfaces. Temperatures today improve from what we saw yesterday by getting up into the upper 20s to mid 30s for highs and lows in the upper teens to mid 20s. South of I-70 could see above freezing today. Temperatures will be similar through the weekend. Sunday night could drop back into the single digits again north of I-70 (teens south of I-70). There will be brief Saturday night into Sunday, a quick system will pass through central IL bringing a quick bout snow. Timing looks to be from 00z to 12z Sunday. There is a 40-70% chance of greater than 2 inches of snow north of a Havana to Bloomington line through 18z Sunday. There is less than a 40% chance of 0.5 inch of snow by I-72, with chances decreasing as you move south. South of I-70 will begin to warm near to above freezing as the sun rises Sunday, which could make the precipitation change over from snow to rain or even a rain/snow mix for a brief time before the system moves off to the east. North of I- 70, this looks like a good set up to get 1-4 inches from this system. After the weekend, there is a signal for additional clipper systems to move across the northern CONUS, bringing additional precipitation to central and southeastern IL throughout the week. Depending on whether the systems take a more northern or southern track will determine our precip-type. First let`s get through this weekend`s system, then we will dive further into the weeds on how next weeks train of systems will affect the forecast area. One thing we can focus on is the hope for above freezing temperatures for the middle of next week. Tuesday and Wednesday will provide a great breather between cold spells. Highs look to get into the upper 30s to mid 40s, with Tuesday night lows only in the low 30s. Then temperatures get cold again for the end of the week. Copple && .AVIATION... (For the 12z TAFs through 12z Saturday Morning) Issued at 512 AM CST Fri Dec 5 2025 A trough of low pressure will approach central Illinois through the period with S/SW winds today ahead of the front veering to the northwest late in the period. Some patchy fog remains possible across mainly east central Illinois this morning, but VFR conditions should otherwise prevail today. MVFR and possibly IFR ceilings will overspread central Illinois behind the front late tonight into Saturday morning. Deubelbeiss && .CLIMATE... Issued at 205 PM CST Thu Dec 4 2025 Record low temperatures for today: Location Friday ======== ======== Bloomington -2 (1895) Champaign 0 (1895) Decatur 2 (1905) Jacksonville -3 (1895) Lincoln 3 (2005) Peoria 0 (2005) Springfield 4 (1895) Geelhart && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$