DRY FOR NOW...

It's going to be a pleasant weekend around the Midwest and it got off to a good start! Here's a look at the temperatures across the country Friday afternoon:

This was the warmest day in much of the Midwest in about 10 days. Temperatures were well below normal for the last week. Check out the temperature departures since April 27th from the Midwest Regional Climate Center:

The greatest temperature departures were centered over my local area. The last two days were above normal but the next two will likely be below normal once again. Here's the expected highs for Saturday and Sunday:

It will be dry over the weekend with high pressure in control. This will continue a stretch of dry weather the Upper Midwest has been experiencing for the last five days. And now Missouri is getting a break from the heavy rainfall over the last few days. One interesting thing about the recent rain is that it has led to a Drought Monitor that looks like this:

This is the first time the entire Midwest has been drought free since May of 2002! While this weekend will be calm, rain chances will increase as we enter the new week. Here's a look at the next six days on the GFS:

And the resulting rainfall totals through Thursday on the GFS and European:

Pretty good consensus on light rainfall totals in the Upper Midwest and higher totals in central Illinois and Missouri. This weekend though will be sunny, dry and pleasant all across the Midwest.. enjoy!