Rock Island, IL Weather

Key Messages

- Unseasonably mild fall weather continues through the upcoming work week, with passing clouds and light winds.

- Mostly dry conditions expected at the start of the work week, with chances gradually increasing midweek and beyond.

Short Term

Issued at 200 PM CDT Sun Oct 25 2026

Weak wave ejects off of the Rockies and tracks northeast into the Upper Mississippi River Valley through Monday. The slow-moving cold front to our northwest will continue to get shunted southeast into eastern Iowa as a result. With this overhead, we will start to see increasing cloud cover over the area and winds shifting easterly through Monday. Overall moisture content remains low, favoring dry conditions through the start of the work week. Tonight, mostly cloudy skies will moderate temperatures in the low 50s. Tomorrow we will see temperatures that are a few degrees cooler than the previous day, owing to increased cloud cover and llvl easterly flow setting up behind the front.

Long Term

Issued at 200 PM CDT Sun Oct 25 2026

Tuesday-Thursday...The next shortwave trough rotates into the Northern Plains, spawning another low pressure system across the Dakotas. Diffluent flow ahead of a jet streak in the base of this trough is expected to slowly deepen this new low as it treks into Minnesota and southern Ontario Tuesday night into Wednesday. A weak cold front will slide into Iowa, but similar to today, it will stall out across the state heading into Wednesday night. Lingering moisture from the Pacific will keep PoPs around 20-40% for areas west of the Mississippi River Wednesday night into Thursday, with higher chances (60-80%) for locations along/north of a line from Sigourney to Dubuque IA. Any accumulation currently seems to be light and <0.25".

Friday-Saturday...Another weak trough in the subtropical jet stream is pulled northward into the Central Plains by a longwave trough digging into the western CONUS. A sense of deju vu sets in on Friday with surface cyclogenesis occurring along the Front Range of the Rockies and easterly surface flow returning with a high pressure over the Great Lakes. By Saturday, the remnants of the boundary left across Iowa is lifted northward, and southerly flow returns. This will set the stage for a more active pattern going into the first days of November.

Aviation

Issued at 1204 PM CDT Sun Oct 25 2026

VFR conditions will prevail through the TAF period, with light southerly winds to start. After 21z this afternoon, winds will become light and variable, lasting through tonight as a slow- moving cold front moves overhead. Otherwise, a mix of mid-high clouds will be seen. No sig wx is expected at this time.