Severe weather threat ending

(6:54:03 PM) iembot: 2 Se Clinton [Rock Co, WI] law enforcement reports TSTM WND DMG at 06:18 PM CDT -- tree down at intersection of county rd j and buss rd.

Update 5:40pm - A broken line of showers and thunderstorms will push through the area over the next hour or so. Our severe threat is quickly waning.

Update 4:35pm - TORNADO WATCH issued for southern Wisconsin.

Update 4:00pm - Storms having a hard time getting going. Still, low-level instability appears to be marginally favorable for severe weather. Nonetheless, if these storms ever get going we expect some sort of weather watch. On an unrelated note eight people were killed by tornadoes in Arkansas today. For more on that, click on the KAIT-TV weather blog on the right side of this page.

Update 3:00pm - A few storms are trying to develop from Eastern Iowa down into West-Central Illinois with a new mesoscale discussion out from the Storm Prediction Center. A Tornado Watch may come out between the 4-5 o'clock hour. We'll post it here on the blog. Keep tabs on the skies this evening!


Update 11:20am - Portions of eastern Iowa are trying to clear out at this time. A thin deck of cirrus clouds are hanging on, but there should be enough sunlight hitting the ground between Des Moines and Dubuque to heat up the atmosphere to sufficient levels to get some convection to take place. Dew points in the low 60s are easily high enough to support thunderstorm development. No activity has initiated just yet, but the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma has stated that as soon as some storms begin to sprout over eastern IA, southwestern WI, and extreme northwestern IL a weather watch will likely be issued. Supercells that develop in the above area circled in the red may contain large hail and isolated tornadoes.

Update 9:20am = Some rumbling is taking place in western Winnebago County, but these storms should not be too big of a deal as they continue to move to the NNE. Some pea size hail has been reported from this cluster, but that is about it.

Original Post = The Storm Prediction Center still has us in a slight risk for severe weather for today, with a moderate risk south of Champaign. The visible satellite image was taken at 8:30am and shows extensive cloud cover across the region, which could prohibit the development of the more severe storms later today. -ADAM