Windy downpours, local 2” rain tallies ahead
It’s the 9th weekend of meteorological spring, and it’s likely to become only the second of the season to log measurable rain on both Saturday and Sunday. The steady stream of eye-catching computer rainfall projections for Chicago continue, and suspicions that the area is on its way to 2006’s heaviest single rain tally still persist. Such forecasts have converged on weekend tallies near 2”, which would eclipse the 1.20” that fell here Feb. 15-16 and mark only the third official 1”-plus rain of 2006.
It won’t be difficult to dodge raindrops Saturday morning. Rainfall is likely to consist of scattered showers which look more impressive on radar than they really are. The first raindrops may evaporate in dry air near the ground as the day begins. But, the atmosphere is to moisten rapidly Saturday afternoon once a band of 80 m.p.h. winds organize less than a mile above the ground. Those winds, with Gulf origins, promise rapid delivery of moisture expected to fuel impressive downpours.
--Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Meteorologist