Northern IL finally gets some rain

It has honestly been so long since our last storm, that I may have forgotten to post about weather related events.  Nonetheless, tonight the northern part of IL got some much needed rain, but mother nature also provided an amazing light show to go with it.  I have never quite seen cloud-ground lightning like I did tonight.  My only regrets had to do with my lens choice given the distance I was actually away from the approaching multi-celled cluster (later forming into an MCS).  Too bad the other lens was accidentally left in my other camera bag at home.

This afternoon had incredible daytime heating, and had sporadic convection throughout the day.  Rockford managed 99 degrees, which was the warmest reading that I have found within the Chicago-CWA.  And although the convection was ongoing throughout the day, weaker upper level winds inhibited long-lasting growth, creating vertical towers that collapsed on their selves due to becoming cold air dominant (due to the rain shaft cutting off the inflow).  At the same time, the CAP to our west started to progressively weaken, and with that, and the somewhat diffuse cold front providing a source of lift, it allowed for initiation.  With northwest upper level winds, it allowed for some forward propagation of the cold pool, which eventually sustained itself into an MCS with a more established RIJ.