A few storms north of Highway 20  were severe this afternoon. Some storms produced golf ball sized hail and some rain reports are 2″+. At the same time many others in the viewing area were dry again and HOT. Here are the high temperatures across the state.

Iowa City broke the record high today. Here is how the others compared.

Ok now lets look at the storm photos.
Cresco By Ryan Wilson

Ridgeway By Andy Ludeking

Ridgeway By Julie Kriener

Waukon By Shirley Snitker

West Union By KWWL Weather Tracker

Cresco By Jill Smith

Ridgeway By Niki Konkel

These storms dumped a lot of rain in a short amount of time. Here are just a few rain totals of more than 0.50″ from this afternoon.

2.07″ Dorchester
2.06″ Cresco
1.75″ Monona
1.50″ Bluffton
1.22″ Harpers Ferry
1.13″ Ion
0.91″ Decorah
0.80″ Waukon
0.76″ Marquette
0.74″ Prairie du Chien
0.61″ Boscobel

Posted under Flooding, Photo, Precipitation Totals, Severe Weather, Temperatures

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 with 30 % chance of showers/storms this evening. Overnight will be warm and humid. Low: 67-71. Wind:  S 5-10 mph.

Thursday: Mostly sunny. High: 87-91. Wind: NW 10-15 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Low: 64-68. Wind: N 5-10 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, hot and humid. High: near 90.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, hot and humid. High: low 90s.

Sunday: Partly cloudy, hot and humid. High: mid 90s.

Monday: Partly cloudy, hot and humid. High: upper 90s.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy, hot and humid. High: upper 90s.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy, hot and humid. High: upper 90s.

There is a low and stationary front across Iowa this afternoon. Along the front a few showers/storms have developed north of Waterloo. The heavier rain reports have been located north of Highway 20. The storms have been moving generally east.

There is a SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH in effect for most of the viewing area until 8 pm. Right now it does not appear there will be much severe weather if any in the watch area. The northern part of the state will have the better chance of rain. Here is the watch:

For those that get rain this afternoon and evening, it will not be enough to lift the burn bans that are in place. Here are the current burn bans. Click here for more details on the burn bans.   
The weather pattern for the next several days shows a large ridge of high pressure over the middle of the country. The result will be dry and hot (highs in the 90s) conditions through the middle of next week. The maps below shows the ridge.

Combine the heat and humidity you can see the heat index will be 100+. The map below is for Tuesday.

The 8-14 day outlook (July 26-Aug. 1) shows temperatures above normal and near normal precipitation.

Posted under Fire, Forecast Discussion

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 493
   NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
   100 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2012

   THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
   SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

          NORTHEAST AND EAST-CENTRAL IOWA
          NORTHERN ILLINOIS
          FAR NORTHWEST INDIANA
          FAR SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA
          SOUTHERN WISCONSIN
          LAKE MICHIGAN

   EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 
100 PM UNTIL 800 PM CDT.

   HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
   MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

Click here for more on the watch.

Posted under Severe Weather

From NWS
2010: A cluster of severe thunderstorms produced damaging straight-line winds across portions of central and southeastern Iowa during the early morning hours. The storms originated over southern Minnesota late on the evening of the 17th, then intensified shortly after midnight on the 18th across Humboldt and Webster counties before moving rapidly southeast through the Des Moines metro area and past Centerville and Bloomfield into Missouri. The strongest winds and most widespread damage occurred in portions of Boone, Story, and Polk counties where 70 to 80 mph wind gusts were common and an 84 mph gust was measured in Urbandale. Power lines were downed and thousands of trees were destroyed or significantly damaged, blocking roads and damaging homes and other buildings. In Ames a large tree fell on a shed injuring several horses inside. Further southeast a 72 mph wind gust was measured in Appanoose County where widespread damage also occurred. More than 40,000 people in the Des Moines metro were without power at the height of the storm.

18 July 1899 → The U.S.’s record 130-minute rainfall amount was set at Rockport, WV with exactly 19 inches. 18 July 1942 → Smethport, PA reported the U.S.’s record 3 hour rainfall (28.50″), 4.5 hour rainfall (30.70″), and 12 hour rainfall (34.30″). 18 July 1986 → A KARE TV news helicopter captured live footage of a tornado as it hit the northern suburbs of Minneapolis. It touched down in Brooklyn and continued to Fridley. The tornado, an F2 in magnitude, caused $650,000 in damages. 18 July 1986 → At the second round of the British Open at the Turnberry Course in Western Scotland Greg Norman shot an amazing 63 in wind and rain. A low pressure system in the Atlantic brought 35 mph winds, dropped temperatures into the 50s, and lowered visibilities to less than a mile. 18 July 1996 → An F5 multiple-vortex tornado moved to the ESE, then E, then NE as it destroyed much of Oakfield, WI. Homes were swept clean of their foundations east of town. Canceled checks were later found 125 miles away in Lower Michigan.

Posted under Weather History