Sterling, Illinois Weather
Cicadas claim the afternoon. Day 15 of summer. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Sterling weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
- TodayJul 5Overcast11%—85°67°—
- MondayJul 6Mostly Clear——85°65°0°
- TuesdayJul 7Overcast——81°61°-4°
- WednesdayJul 8Light Drizzle10%—82°66°+1°
- ThursdayJul 9T-storm w/ Hail45%1.3″82°69°0°
- FridayJul 10Thunderstorm37%0.01″79°66°-3°
- SaturdayJul 11Light Drizzle21%—83°68°+4°
AQI 19 (Good), driven by PM2.5. AQI down 7 over the last 6 hours (gradual decline). PM2.5 at 7.2 µg/m³, PM10 at 7.6 µg/m³ — typical background levels with no transport signature.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion during the projected peak around 10 PM.
What's driving it
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 7.2 µg/m³, PM10 at 7.6 µg/m³ — typical background levels with no transport signature.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.95
- Wind
- breezy
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- background
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
If the first of July be rainy weather, 'twill rain more or less for four weeks together.
- Moonrise
- 11:18 PM
- Moonset
- 11:10 AM
- In sign
- ♓︎ Pisces
Cicadas claim the afternoon
Sterling at a glance
- Today vs. normal: 9°F above the seasonal normal for this latitude
- Last frost: April 27 (climatological average for this latitude)
- Microseason: Jul 1–5
- Planting window: Harvest early potatoes. Begin drying onions on the surface.
ZIP code: 61081
16-Day Forecast — Sterling
- Sun84°67°11%
- Mon85°65°1%
- Tue81°61°1%
- Wed82°66°10%
- Thu82°69°45%
- Fri79°66°37%
- Sat83°68°21%
- Sun84°68°9%
- Mon89°70°7%
- Tue88°72°6%
- Wed74°61°8%
- Thu76°59°26%
- Fri81°60°16%
- Sat84°67°35%
- Sun86°71°26%
- Mon87°72°26%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Right now in the garden
Peak growing season
As of July 5, the growing season is at its peak — frost is months away. Continue succession-planting beans and summer squash. Start fall brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale) from seed indoors for transplanting in late summer.
SPC Convective Outlook
Storm Prediction Center — Sterling
SPC includes Sterling in the general thunderstorm area today — no severe risk, but storms are possible.
- TODAYTSTMGeneral Thunderstorms
- TOMORROWNONENo severe risk
- DAY 3NONENo severe risk
Thunderstorms possible. Not severe, but capable of producing lightning and brief heavy rain.
Source: NOAA / NWS Storm Prediction Center categorical convective outlook. Outlooks are re-issued multiple times per day; this page reflects the most recent SPC polygons covering the city’s coordinates.
ZIP codes in Sterling
- 61081