The Drought Monitor map was released this morning and it is not good for Iowa. The conditions are getting worse. We are starting to see more D1-Drought Moderate conditions.

Here are the rain totals for the month of June compared to normal on this day.

The map below shows the departure from normal precipitation for the last 30 days. The only part of Iowa with a rain surplus is in the southwest.

Posted under Drought

The visible satellite image below shows a large smoke plume from a fire in southwest Wyoming.

Click here to see an animation of the above image.

The image above comes from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Posted under Fire

I love looking at visible satellite images. They can show so many details.

Posted under Miscellaneous

Submit your weather Hot Shot by clicking here.
One photo is shown on the 5 pm newscast and one on the 10 pm newscast.

Posted under Hot Shots, Photo

Tonight:  Partly cloudy, warm and humid with a 20% chance of showers/storms. Low: 66-72. Wind: N 5 mph.

Friday: Partly cloudy, hot and humid with a 20% chance of showers/storms. High: 89-93. Heat Index: 90-99. Wind: SE 5-10 mph.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, warm and humid with a 20% chance of showers/storms. Low: 69-71. Wind: S 5-10 mph.

Saturday: Partly cloudy, hot and humid with a 20% chance of showers/storms. High: low 90s.

Sunday: Partly cloudy, hot and humid with a 20% chance of showers/storms. High: low 90s.

Monday: Partly cloudy, hot and humid with a 20% chance of showers/storms. High: low-mid 90s.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy, hot and humid. High: low-mid 90s.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy, hot and humid with a 20% chance of showers/storms. High: low-mid 90s.

Thursday: Partly cloudy, hot and humid with a 20% chance of showers/storms. High: near 90.

You can see the Space Station this evening. According to the schedule from NASA, this will be the last pass over Iowa until at least July 12.

Time: 9:17 PM
Duration: 2 min
Path: WSW to SSW

A HEAT ADVISORY remains in effect until 7 AM Friday for areas shaded on the map below.

The heat index, in many locations across the southern half of Iowa, is reaching 100+ at 3 PM.

The heat wave will continue through much of next week with high temperatures forecast to be in the low-mid 90s each day. It will remain humid as well with lows each morning near 70.

You can see where the cold front is located by looking at the heat index map above and the dewpoint map below. The dewpoints behind the front drop into the 40s. That is a huge difference from the dewpoints south of the front.

There is a front that will move north and south across the state during the next seven days and with that front nearby I will keep a chance of a storm in the forecast for most of the next seven days. Here is the position of the front Friday morning:

Here is the position of the front Saturday morning:

The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) 8-14 day (July 6-12) outlook is keeping temperatures above normal and precipitation below normal.

Posted under Astronomy, Forecast Discussion

From NWS
1990: Severe weather hammered northwestern Iowa with large hail and strong winds. Wind gusts as high as 100 mph caused tremendous damage around Everly in Clay County and hail as large as 3 inches in diameter accumulated to 6 inches deep near Hospers in O’Brien County. At Hospers and Boyden the hail stones struck with such force that they punched through the roofs of houses.

1983: Thunderstorms produced heavy rain across portions of Iowa for several days in late June. In Des Moines and areas of northern Polk County heavy rain fell on four consecutive days from the 26th-29th with unofficial rainfall totals of 7 to 10 inches reported. On the evening of the 28th an observer in northeastern Des Moines measured an incredible 3.57 inches of rain in just 35 minutes. Official rainfall totals over these four days included 5.29 inches at Perry and 7.75 inches at Ankeny.

1979: Severe thunderstorms produced 10 tornadoes across northern Iowa including an F4 that devastated Manson, killing 3 people and injuring 26 others. Another tornado killed 2 and injured 34 in and around Algona and a third injured 10 people as it barely missed Webster City to the north. Hail as large as 2 inches in diameter was also reported in some areas.

1978: Severe thunderstorms affected much of Iowa producing large hail, strong winds, and heavy rain. Hail stones broke all 90 windows on the west side of the high school at Fenton in Kossuth County and golf ball sized hail covered the streets in Boone. Strong winds blew part of the roof off the high school at Morning Sun in Louisa County and gusts as high as 73 mph at Ottumwa blew out windows and toppled trees, with 1.4 inches of rain falling in half an hour and causing considerable urban flooding. Heavy rain and flooding also struck Marengo where 3.25 inches of rain fell and Iowa City, where 2 to 4 inches of rain in an hour and a half resulted in urban flooding that stranded cars and backed up sewers. In Humboldt an incredible 4.5 inches of rain fell in only 45 minutes inundating the city with many roads and shoulders washed away and basements flooded.

1969: Severe thunderstorms in western and across southern Iowa injured several people and produced significant crop and property damage. A hail storm caused 60 to 100 percent crop losses around Moorhead, Dunlap and Defiance. Strong winds as high as 90 mph struck Shelby, Carroll, and Crawford counties. Further southeast in Albia high winds caused extensive damage and injured four people, with another three injured at Ottumwa and one more at Middleton. The storms were still producing wind gusts to 70 mph and large hail in Des Moines County before crossing the river into Illinois.

1960: Severe thunderstorms within a squall line produced large hail and very strong straight-line winds across central and southeastern Iowa. The storms intensified around Boone and Ames during the afternoon with 3 inch diameter hail falling in the area. The squall line then moved southeast across Newton, Pella, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Fairfield, Keosauqua, and Keokuk through the evening producing a long swath of severe weather and damage. At Ottumwa 2 inches of rain fell in only 15 minutes, baseball sized hail was reported, and a wind gust of 115 mph was measured at the airport which is the highest official wind speed ever recorded in Iowa. In Pella baseball sized hail fell along with 5.5 inches of rain. Baseball sized hail was also reported at Leighton and Newton. Six people were injured in Iowa by these storms.

1947: A severe thunderstorm moved from southwestern Minnesota into northwestern Iowa during the mid-afternoon hours producing very large hail across portions of Lyon, Osceola, and O’Brien counties. At some locations the hail lasted between 15 and 30 minutes and stones as large as baseballs were reported. The heaviest damage was in northern Lyon County from north of Rock Rapids eastward to Little Rock and in Osceola County southeast of Ocheyedan. Crops were beaten into the ground and in some areas it was the worst hail storm in decades. Two people were injured.

28 June 1788 → The Battle of Monmouth in central New Jersey was fought in sweltering heat. The temperature was measured to be 96 degrees in the shade. More casualties were from the heat than from bullets. 28 June 1924 → A tornado, probably an F4, took an odd path as hit touched down in Sandusky, OH, then moved out over Lake Erie for 24 miles, and then came back on shore at Vermilion and Lorain, OH. Because the tornado went through downtown Lorain, relatively few homes were destroyed in that city but there was great destruction to businesses. There were 85 fatalities from Sandusky to the tornado’s end east of Lorain, some of which may have occurred when the tornado hit several boats out on Lake Erie. 28 June 1960 → Dunmor, KY (Muhlenberg County) recorded 10.40″ of rain in 24 hours. This stood as Kentucky’s record 1-day rainfall until 10.48″ fell at Louisville on March 1, 1997. 28 June 1975 → Golfer Lee Trevino was struck by lightning during the Western Open in Chicago. He had burn marks on his shoulder and had permanent damage to his lower back.

Posted under Weather History