Tonight: Mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of showers/storms. Low: 62-64. Wind: E 5-10 mph.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers/storms. High: 74-79. Wind: N 10-15 mph.

Thursday Night: Decreasing clouds. Low: 54-58. Wind: N 5-10 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny. High: mid 70s.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. High: near 80.

Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers/storms. High: upper 70s.

Monday: Partly cloudy. High: mid 80s.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High: near 90.

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

Some locations are clouds and some are dealing with sunshine this afternoon (see map below).

Some locations are dealing with strong to severe storms in western Iowa. They are forecast to track southeast missing most of eastern Iowa. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for south central Iowa. The rain in Dubuque is tapering off as it moves east.

The sky condition tonight will be similar so I am going to show you the International Space Station flyover times for this evening.

Time: 8:43 pm
Duration: 5 min
Path: SSW to ENE

Time: 10:18 pm
Duration: 6 min
Path: W to NE

Low pressure over South Dakota is forecast to track south and then east across the Iowa/Missouri state line tonight. Isolated showers/storms are possible tonight and tomorrow. The severe weather outlook does NOT include eastern Iowa. Here is the forecast position of the low Thursday morning.

Friday and Saturday are going to be just fabulous. High pressure will move across the Midwest with sunshine and comfortable temperatures in 70s. There might be a few low 80s on Saturday but overall very comfortable. The map below shows the forecast position of the high pressure Saturday morning.

There are some conflicting model data for Sunday. The forecast low pressure position varies anywhere from central Iowa to central Kansas. Because of the low confidence in data for Sunday I will leave a slight chance of showers/storms in the forecast for Sunday. I will make adjustments as needed as the day gets closer.

Dry weather is expected for Monday and Tuesday as temperatures begin to warm back into the mid and upper 80s. Low pressure is forecast to develop over South Dakota and Nebraska Tuesday and Wednesday. Iowa will be in the position for a south and southwest wind pushing warmer temperatures in our direction. A warm front will extend east/southeast from the low. Areas south of the front will be in the 90s with 80s north of the front. The exact position of the front is unknown at this point but it will be located somewhere across Iowa. Along and north of the front there will be a chance of showers/storms. I will leave Tuesday dry with highs near 90 and add a chance of showers/storms Wednesday along the warm front. Some locations Wednesday will be in the low 90s.

Here is the latest burn ban map.

Click here for more information on each county.

Posted under Astronomy, Fire, Forecast Discussion