Clouds and showers hung around most of the day kept showers cooler than normal. Highs today is just a taste of what most of next week is expected to be like. Tomorrow sunshine will return and so will warmer temperatures. Sunshine and highs in the 70s will continue into the weekend.

Most of next week highs will only reach the 60s. A deep upper level trough will pull cooler air from Canada south. Here is the what the 500 mb trough looks like from the GFS model.

The morning low temperatures on Wednesday could drop as low as the upper 30s. Now that we are getting to that time of year many people ask “when do we usually have our first frost?”. Well, the map below shows the average date of the first 32F temperature during the fall season. The map below is based on data from the 30 year climate data. Notice this was last updated in 2000. The new 30 year data (1981-2010) is out but, I am waiting to hear from the State Climatologist/NWS to see if this map has changed any. I will post the updated map when it is released.

Posted under 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: Decreasing clouds. Low: 40-43. Wind: Calm.

Friday: Mostly sunny and warmer. High: 73-76. Wind: Light and variable.

Friday Night: Clear with patchy fog late. Low: 44-47. Wind: Calm.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. High: mid 70s.

Sunday: Mostly sunny. High: upper 70s.

Monday: Mostly cloudy with a 40% chance of showers/storms. High: near 70.

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy. High: low 60s.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. High: mid-upper 60s.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers. High: mid 60s.

The weather today was very different from Tuesday. The high in Waterloo Tuesday was 90 degrees and today the temperature was struggling to reach 60 degrees. During this time of year, temperature swings like that are not unusual. Now that a cold front has passed and brought rain to the area, high pressure will be the dominate weather feature for Friday into the weekend.

The rain last night and today was a nice gentle rain…but we need more. The updated Drought Monitor was released this morning and the news is not good. There is 66% of Iowa in extreme drought this week compared to 62% last week. The exceptional drought conditions remained the same at 2%.

We are tracking a cold front that is forecast to cross the state Monday. The front will bring a chance of showers/storms with it. Here is the GFS model for Monday evening.

After the cold front passes, high temperatures will be cooler than normal. Highs will only be in the 60s. Normal highs are in the low-mid 70s for this time of year. The coolest day will be Tuesday with highs in the low 60s while the coldest morning will be Wednesday morning…upper 30s…go look for your coat.

The 8-14 day outlook (Sept 21-27) from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) shows below normal temperatures and near to below normal precipitation.

High School Football Forecast (Friday Evening):
Mostly clear.
Kickoff temp: upper 60s.
Wind: Calm.

College Football Forecast (Saturday) 
vs.
UNI vs. Iowa (Iowa City):
Mostly sunny
Kickoff Temp: mid 70s.
Wind: SW 5-10 mph.

Western Illinois vs. Iowa State (Ames):
Mostly sunny.
Kickoff Temp: upper 70s.
Wind: SW 5-10 mph.

Posted under Drought, Forecast Discussion, Long Range Outlook, Sports

24 Rain Totals
7 AM Wednesday to 7 AM Thursday

Posted under Precipitation Totals

From NWS
1902: Unusually cold weather brought freezing temperatures across much of the northwestern half of Iowa on September 12-13 with several stations reporting their earliest freeze on record. Low temperatures on the morning of the 13th included 28 F at Bedford, Lansing, Logan, and Sibley, 27 F at Fort Dodge and Harlan, 26 F at Le Mars, and 25 F at Atlantic and Plover.

13 September 1922 → The hottest temperature ever on Earth was recorded in Al Aziziyah, Libya: 136 degrees. 13 September 1928 → The hurricane that struck Puerto Rico was called the San Felipe Hurricane because that is the saint’s day on which it struck. One thousand people died. 13 September 1928 → F4 tornadoes struck Nebraska, South Dakota, and Iowa. Three small country schools in eastern Nebraska were swept clean of their foundations, but many lives were saved thanks to local farmers rushing to the schools to warn of the approaching storms. 13 September 1988 → A reconnaissance plane measured Hurricane Gilbert as the strongest Atlantic hurricane (up to that time) at 888 millibars. 13 September 1993 → Denver experienced a record 5-inch early season snow. The day before this, it had been 90 degrees F.

Posted under Weather History