Sterling, Illinois Weather
Cicadas claim the afternoon. Day 14 of summer. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Sterling weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
- TodayJul 4Drizzle51%0.07″85°69°—
- SundayJul 5Overcast27%—84°67°-1°
- MondayJul 6Partly Cloudy——81°63°-3°
- TuesdayJul 7Overcast——79°57°-2°
- WednesdayJul 8Overcast11%—82°62°+3°
- ThursdayJul 9Drizzle50%0.02″76°68°-6°
- FridayJul 10Overcast21%—80°63°+4°
AQI 22 (Good), driven by Ozone. Ozone at AQI 39. Overcast through the UV peak window (cloud cover ~93%) — afternoon ozone should stay flat.
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
Ozone × UV × Sky
Ozone at AQI 39. Overcast through the UV peak window (cloud cover ~93%) — afternoon ozone should stay flat.
- Present
- AQI 39
- UV peak
- 5.5 at 1 PM
- Sky at peak
- overcast
- Projected peak
- AQI 14
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 4.6 µg/m³, PM10 at 5.5 µg/m³ — typical background levels with no transport signature.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.84
- Wind
- light
- 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
- 10:56 PM
- Moonset
- 10:03 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
- Sat85°69°51%
- Sun84°67°27%
- Mon81°63°8%
- Tue79°57°1%
- Wed82°62°11%
- Thu76°68°50%
- Fri80°63°21%
- Sat82°65°12%
- Sun68°58°9%
- Mon74°55°10%
- Tue74°59°10%
- Wed79°62°26%
- Thu82°66°13%
- Fri82°68°26%
- Sat84°70°26%
- Sun85°72°32%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Right now in the garden
Peak growing season
As of July 4, 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 has placed Sterling in the Marginal Risk category for severe thunderstorms today.
- TODAYMRGLMarginal Risk
- TOMORROWTSTMGeneral Thunderstorms
- DAY 3NONENo severe risk
Isolated severe storms possible. Limited threat for hail or damaging wind.
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