Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Central Illinois
Issued by NWS Central Illinois
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952 FXUS63 KILX 110510 AFDILX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lincoln IL 1210 AM CDT Fri Sep 11 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Scattered rain showers across central and southeast Illinois will diminish late this afternoon. - Unseasonably warm conditions return Saturday through Tuesday, sending afternoon temperatures into the upper 80s and lower 90s. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 1240 PM CDT Thu Sep 10 2026 A shortwave trough and associated frontal boundary currently traversing the area has brought widespread rain showers to central and southeast Illinois through midday. Synoptic scale ascent has weakened over the past few hours and this trend is expected to continue, causing the showers to scatter out and eventually diminish by early evening over southeast IL. Sinking motion and surface high pressure building across the Great Lakes will promote clearing skies tonight and Friday morning. High temperatures on Friday rebound into the lower to mid 80s as broad southeasterly flow resumes. Two low chances of rain develop for late Friday through Sunday. The first is associated with a weak upper wave passing to our south, which could spread scattered showers as far north as southeast to east central IL Friday afternoon and Friday night. Separately, a frontal boundary over the upper Midwest makes some progress southeast on Saturday night into Sunday, and this brings low chance PoPs into the western CWA. High confidence resides in a substantial warming trend Saturday through Tuesday (Sep 12-15). An upper-level ridge amplifies across the central to eastern CONUS, supported by strong agreement between deterministic and ensemble mean guidance. NBM blended guidance projects daily high temperatures climbing into the upper 80s to lower 90s through this period. The ECMWF Extreme Forecast Index (EFI) highlights maximum temperature values ranging from 0.70 to 0.85 across central Illinois, indicating climatologically unusual warmth for mid- September. Guidance supports dew points generally in the 60s though this stretch, which would keep daily peak heat indices below 100 degrees. The next chance for appreciable rain holds off until some point next week when the next cold front moves into the Midwest. The guidance envelope shows a large spread in timing, which is expected as the system is moving into a strong ridge. As a result, NBM`s chance to likely PoPs stretch through Mon-Thu. ML/AI severe outlook produce show a low (5%) risk area centered around Tuesday. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 1210 AM CDT Fri Sep 11 2026 Dense fog has developed over west-central Illinois and will expand into central parts of the state through this morning. Highest confidence in visibility falling below 1 mile is at western terminals (KPIA, KSPI), with more transient development east of there. Fog should improve by 13/14Z, parting way to light south- southeast winds through the remainder of the day. && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Dense Fog Advisory until 9 AM CDT this morning for ILZ040- 047>051. && $$ KEY MESSAGES...25 DISCUSSION...25 AVIATION...NMA