Champaign, Illinois 7 Day Weather Forecast

Wx Forecast - Wx Discussion - Wx Aviation

382
FXUS63 KILX 182357
AFDILX

Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
557 PM CST Thu Dec 18 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- By early evening, snow showers will be possible (20-40% chance)
  and could produce sharp visibility reductions and slick spots on
  roadways during the evening commute as temperature plummet
  behind the front.

- Wind gusts could approach 45 mph at times this afternoon and
  evening. Gusts will be out of the south ahead of the front, then
  west-northwest behind the front. A Wind Advisory is in effect for
  central and southeastern Illinois.

- Temperatures fluctuate through the weekend, with the coldest
  conditions Friday morning as wind chill values fall below zero
  north of I-70. Well above normal temperatures are forecast for
  next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 156 PM CST Thu Dec 18 2025

The high for today has already occurred this morning ahead of the
cold frontal passage. Temperatures will continue to plummet as the
front progresses east. As of 20z (2pm), the front is now east of a
Champaign to Effingham line. Winds ahead of the front are out of the
south and quite strong, with gusts from 40-50 mph. Winds behind the
front are out of the northwest and much more relaxed at the moment
compared to ahead of it. The northwesterly winds are expected to get
gusty again as a secondary boundary moves through, primarily in
areas west of I-55. NBM probabilities show a 20-40% chance of wind
gusts exceeding 40 mph later this evening. The Wind Advisory is
in effect now and will expire at midnight, but could be cancelled
earlier if the winds settle down below advisory level sooner.

Behind the front, we will see some wintry mix then snow showers as
the CAA dramatically drops the temperatures below freezing. Overall,
amounts from the snow showers should remain minimal, around maybe a
tenth or two. However, there is a signal for the potential of snow
squall development or banding. There is a decent area of FGEN around
00z-03z based off the models, with 30-50 J/kg of instability
(SBCAPE) co-located. Timing for development is from 00z to 03z
Friday (6pm-9pm Thursday). With any snow squall or stronger band
that develops, rapidly deteriorating road conditions and limited
visibility is possible. When heading out for the evening, stay aware
of the weather and its impacts. Roads could become slippery and icy
as temperatures drop below freezing.

Dry weather will settle in for the weekend by early tomorrow
morning. Highs will bounce around this weekend before leveling out
by mid-week. Tomorrow`s highs will be in the upper 20s to mid 30s,
with lows in the teens that morning. Wind chills in the morning
will be bitter with values near and below zero. Saturday will warm
up into the mid 40s to low 50s, with lows in the 20s. Sunday will
drop back into the low 30s to near 40, with lows in the 20s.
Temperatures will get well above normal with values as high as the
mid 60s by Christmas.

Copple

&&

.AVIATION...  (For the 00z TAFs through 00z Friday Evening)
Issued at 542 PM CST Thu Dec 18 2025

A thin line of mixed precipitation is pushing across the central
Illinois terminals early this evening along a cold front. Behind
this front, a large area of MVFR ceilings will overspread the
region, and this will be the dominant ceiling until about 12z.

Upstream observations show a large area of gusty snow showers
ongoing as of 00z across SE Iowa. This activity is likely to push
across central Illinois between 02z-06z. We have lowered
visibility into the IFR range with these showers, but pilots will
need to be vigilant of snow squalls, or narrow bands of heavy
snow, which could sharply reduce visibility to one-half mile or
less for a very brief time.

West winds will gust 25-30 kts overnight, eventually diminishing
by midday Friday.

Ceilings will gradually improve from MVFR to VFR between 12z-15z,
and VFR will then persist through the remainder of the TAF period.

MJA

&&

.ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Wind Advisory until midnight CST tonight for ILZ027>031-036>038-
040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073.

&&

$$