April 7th, 2015

The clarity of IL's dividing line
is beautiful in this representa
-tion. Click to view live.

Hey folks!

Tonight, our state is divided almost perfectly across the center. Through the northern half course strong, northeasterly winds, promising to keep migration down. Through the southern half course more favorable southerly winds. The stationary front we encountered yesterday defines the dividing line between these two halves. 

Let's talk a look at each half of Illinois:

NORTHERN HALF OF ILLINOIS:

In the northern half of the state, winds are strong and northeasterly right up to the frontal boundary. This means, unfortunately, that very little will be migrating tonight, so if you're north of the aforementioned front, you probably won't see many novel birds tomorrow. 

The forecast, sadly, has shifted to rob us of the southerly winds we were hoping for on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, it seems the like the whole state will be engulfed in southerly winds for a relatively short window (about 12 hours) on Thursday. There may be some notable day migration then, but by nightfall, winds in the northern half of the state are forecast to be west/northwesterly. So, if tomorrow night is forecast to still hold northeasterly winds, and Thursday night is predicted to hold northwesterly winds, when will we next see favorable conditions? As I'm sure you understand, forecasts get shakier the further into the future you look. However, the forecast I'm using places weak southerly winds on Saturday and Sunday nights. I'll keep you all posted. 

Tonight's radar

SOUTHERN HALF OF ILLINOIS:

Happily, the southern half of the state is experiencing low-pressure driven southerly winds, which means migrants are seizing the night. In far southern and southwestern Illinois, migration is already reaching almost moderate concentrations (71-227 birds per cubic kilometer), so influx tomorrow should definitely be apparent.

Winds forecast for Thurs-
day night.

Looking ahead, winds are forecast to remain through tomorrow night. After that, westerly and northerly winds are set to take over Thursday and Friday nights. Like in the northern half of the state, favorable southerly winds are then forecast to return on Saturday. I'll keep you posted.

So that's that for tonight. As always, I will egg on your curiosity about what you'll find out there with this perpetually handy eBird page.

And with at, I will bid you all a good night and good birding!