Tonight:  Mostly clear and cooler with patchy fog late. Low: 46-52. Wind: NW 5-10 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny. High: 70-74. Wind: NW 5-10 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear. Low: 45-48. Wind: Calm.

Saturday: Partly cloudy. High: mid 70s.

Sunday: Partly cloudy. High: mid 70s.

Monday: Partly cloudy. High: upper 70s.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High: low 80s.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers/storms. High: low-mid 80s.

Thursday: Partly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers/storms. High: mid 70s.

A cold front brought some well needed rain to the area.

Here are some 24 hour reports earlier this morning on the blog. Click here.

Due to the rain, there are a few burn ban changes from yesterday. Black Hawk and Iowa Counties lifted the burn ban today. Friday morning, Dubuque and Buchanan Counties will lift their burn ban. Here is the map showing the counties that remain under a burn ban as of Friday morning.

Click here for more information on each county.

The updated Drought Monitor was released this morning and there was not much change from last week. Last week 69% of Iowa was in an extreme drought while this week is 62%. Keep in mind the data cutoff for Drought Monitor maps is Tuesday at 6 AM. The maps, which are based on analysis of the data, are released each Thursday at 7:30 AM.

The clouds will clear this evening as high pressure tracks southeast. The wind will also diminish during the evening hours as well. The sky will be mostly clear overnight with some patchy fog developing late. Temperatures will be cooler as we drop into the 40s by Friday morning.

The International Space Station will cross the Midwest this evening and the sky will be mostly clear to view it. Here is the information:

Time: 9:46 pm
Duration: 3 min
Path: NNW to NE

The weather will be cool and dry through early next week. Tuesday and Wednesday temperatures will warm back into the 80s. A front will drift south on Wednesday and low pressure is forecast to track across Iowa Thursday. Both Wednesday and Thursday will have a chance of showers/storms.

Today the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) issued the September outlook. Iowa is expected to see above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation.

Posted under Astronomy, Drought, Fire, Forecast Discussion, Long Range Outlook