Tuesday, January 31 and Wednesday, February 1

Most of the nation will remain dry for Tuesday, but a few showers will move over the South into the Southeast Tuesday into Wednesday with showers becoming more intense along the Gulf Coast. An upper level low sitting over the Northern Plains tracks to the East dropping some light now and wintry mix over the Great Lakes and will continue to target parts of the Northeast up until Wednesday morning. Temperatures over most of the nation are predicted to be at or above average for both tomorrow and Wednesday with some areas in the South reaching temperatures up to 20 degrees above normal for tomorrow. The graphic to the right shows the departures from normal temperatures throughout the nation and as you can see all of the nation’s highs appear to be at or above average for January 31.

After an unusually pleasant January day in Champaign-Urbana, with sunny skies and highs up into the 50s, we will see some clouds and rain move over us later in the day tomorrow. Although the chance of rain increases throughout the course of the day tomorrow most of the day will remain partly sunny. Temperatures will stay above average with a daytime high reaching up to 57°F with an early morning low of 40°F. Expect breezy conditions with a warm SW wind at 15-25mph and gusts reaching up to 40mph. For Wednesday, rain chances clear out, but the clouds don’t with mostly cloudy to partly cloudy skies expected during the day and temperatures remaining warm with a high of 48°F, low of 34°F and a calm NW wind at 3-9mph.

Sunday, January 29 and Monday, 30

High pressure moves over majority of the nation today with only some snow and rain chances over the Central Great Lakes. A cold front passes over the Great Lakes into the Northeast on Sunday and Monday dropping some snow with it; the greatest snow accumulations possible east of Lake Ontario. A large warm up is expected for the Southern US moving north into the Central Plains as temperatures climb to the 40s and 50s near Tennessee and the 60s to 70s along the Gulf of Mexico for Sunday. A storm in the Pacific also brings rain and snow to the Pacific Northwest and along the Northern Plains yet again for Sunday and Monday. Strong winds will also hit parts of Montana and Wyoming with gusts reaching 60 mph.

For the Champaign-Urbana area, today we saw sunny skies throughout the day, temperatures remained in the upper 30s, but it was breezy as a westerly wind brought wind gusts up to 26 mph. For Sunday there is a slight chance of flurries in the morning, but clouds will clear out leaving the day partly sunny and cooler with a high of only 33 °F and an overnight low of 27 °F with a W/NW at 15-25 mph. However, a nice warm up is in store for us Monday as we are expecting to see a high temperature of up to 50 °F with an early morning low of 28 °F, not bad for the end of January! Cloud cover throughout the day will remain partly sunny with a S/SW wind at 10-20mph with gusts as high as 25 mph and no precipitation.

Thursday, January 26 and Friday, January 27

Nationally, there has been a roller coaster of weather with tornadoes in the South and blizzard warnings in the Pacific Northwest. Five tornadoes have already been reported in eastern Texas and western Louisiana as severe thunderstorms rolled through today. This upper level low has been producing a mix of thunderstorms to rain showers and wintry mixes as it moved up into the Midwest. This system will continue to track to the Northeast tomorrow bringing rain and wintry mixes through the Southeast up into the Eastern Great Lakes.

Rain continues along the East Coast for Friday, while all severe thunderstorm threats end after Friday morning. The Pacific Northwest continues to see snow and rain tomorrow with winter weather advisories and even blizzard warnings, but high pressure moves over the area by Friday keeping conditions dry for the most part.

For Champaign-Urbana, a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until 6am Thursday morning for snow, sleet and light icing. Road conditions are bad due to melting and refreezing of precipitation on the ground. There is a slight chance of freezing rain/rain in the early morning hours turning into rain before noon. Clouds clear out around noon and we will see partly sunny skies to mostly sunny skies with temperatures increasing to a high of 42 °F with an overnight low of 26 °F winds from the N/NW between 3-10 mph. Friday morning clouds move back in staying partly cloudy throughout the day, but temperatures still rebound with a high of 42°F during the day and a low of 27°F with a W wind at 5-10mph. Friday night also has a chance of a wintry mix as temperatures drop overnight.

Tuesday, January 24 and Wednesday, January 25

A low- pressure system sets up over the Great Lakes and may bring snow and rain with it as it passes over the Great Lakes and Northeast tomorrow. Meanwhile, a warm front in the South will raise temperatures as far north as the Central Mississippi Valley and up along the East Coast keeping temperatures in the 50, 60s and even 70s until Wednesday. High pressure and calm skies over the Northern and Central Plains tomorrow will move off to the Northwest while rain showers and possible thunderstorms remain in the Southern Plains and Southeast into Wednesday. The Pacific Northwest into the Central Rockies will also see snow/rain tomorrow and for Wednesday, but the heaviest snow -fall is expected in the Northern Rockies.

For Champaign-Urbana, we can expect to see more typical high temperatures for Central Illinois in January with a high temperature of 35 °F for Tuesday, with the low temperature getting down to 23 °F. Skies will remain clear and mostly sunny throughout the day with a mild W/NW winds at 5-10 mph. For Wednesday, we can expect a slight warm up with a high temperature reaching 38 °F and a low of 30 °F. Most of the day will remain mostly cloudy with a calm ESE wind at 5 mph. There is no precipitation expected for Tuesday, but a possible isolated shower may happen during Wednesday afternoon.

Hello all! My name is Natalie and I'm a senior at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana majoring in Atmospheric Science. I have created this blog to function as a weather discussion that will test and evaluate my forecasting skills.

My plan is to produce a forecast every Monday, Wednesday and Friday/Saturday that will predict the next two days. I will make a local forecast for Champaign-Urbana along with a more generalized national forecast. The local forecast will include high/low temperatures, precipitation type and amount, cloud cover, wind speed/direction along with any possible severe weather threats and warnings that may come into play.

I will also comment after each post to validate my forecast and assess my accuracy. You can also expect to see visuals and videos to provide you with a more interactive experience.

I hope you find my blog helpful and interesting! Stay tuned!