Sunny today with rain coming through weekend

[April 12, 2012]  The National Weather Service in Lincoln released this outlook at 6 a.m. Thursday for the counties of Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Jasper, Lawrence, Logan, Macon, McLean, Menard, Moultrie, Piatt, Richland, Sangamon, Shelby and Vermilion in central, east-central and southeast Illinois.

A freeze warning was in effect until 8 this morning.

Thursday and Thursday night:

Temperatures will rise quickly above the freezing mark before midmorning.

Friday through Wednesday:

The likelihood for rain and thunderstorms will increase Friday and continue through at least Monday. Isolated severe storms will be possible late Saturday and Sunday, with higher probabilities farther west toward the Mississippi River. It is unclear whether the risk for severe storms will extend into Monday, since this will depend on the evolution of the weekend activity. An additional effect will be heavy rainfall, which may reach 1 to 2 inches in some locations through the entire four-day period.

Keep informed of later forecasts as the situation becomes better defined.

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NWS forecast for Lincoln

[Text from National Weather Service, Lincoln office]