Weather Alert for tomorrow due to two factors

QUINCY (WGEM) - A warm front is surging towards the Tri-States from the south. This front will shift our winds to the south and wind speeds will increase. I am expecting sustained winds of 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. With mostly sunny skies and those breezy southerly winds, a good warm up is on track for today. Highs will be noticeably warmer, in the mid to upper 60s. Later this afternoon and evening, we will gradually start to some clouds moving in ahead of our next weather system. By tonight, we will be mostly cloudy and will have the chance of a spotty shower or two overnight. It will be windy and lows will be much warmer. Winds will continue to flow in from the south but we are looking for stronger gusts of 40 mph. Lows will be in the mid to upper 50s.

The concern for strong to severe thunderstorms continues for tomorrow late afternoon and evening. Therefore, we have a Weather Alert for tomorrow. Here is how the day looks to unfold at this time. The day will start off mostly cloudy and dry. Winds out of the south will increase again, with sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts of 40 to 50 mph. Due to these gusty winds, portions of the Tri-States will be under a wind advisory from 1 PM tomorrow through 1 PM Saturday. (See first image below.) Instability (fuel for the thunderstorms) will be increasing through the day. If we get some sunshine later in the afternoon, that will just add to the fuel. If we remain cloudy, instability would not get as high. Exactly where the thunderstorms start to develop and how they evolve is still being ironed out. However, as of right now it looks like thunderstorm clusters would start to develop either right over the Tri-States or just to our west. It would be at this time that large hail would be the primary threat. Then, the storms will congeal into a linear line of storms as they move east. The threats would then shift to the possibility of strong damaging straight line winds and tornadoes. It looks like there will be at least some scattered severe storms, but I am less confident that the severe storms will be widespread. These storms will be moving eastward very fast, at 60+ mph. That means they will be in and out of the entire area within just a few hours. The thunderstorms should be done by 6 PM as the initial first cold front heads away from the Tri-States. If we get any watches or warnings, please take them seriously! Feel free to download our free WGEM StormTrak Weather App to get the latest forecast, severe weather notifications and live radar. https://www.wgem.com/page/apps/

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