You might have noticed there has been no data being plotted for Charles City lately on our maps.
There is a reason for that. According to the Northeast Iowa Regional Airport Manager (William R. Kyle) in Charles City the AWOS (Automated Weather Observing System) has been taken down for replacement with new equipment. This project is being conducted by the IDOT. The equipment replacement will take about one week. After that it will take about two weeks to test the equipment. After that the FAA will have to certify it. Hopefully this will all be complete and back up and running around Thanksgiving.

The map below shows where all of the other AWOS stations are across the state are located.
Click on image to enlarge.
Images below are courtesy of Iowa Environmental Mesonet.

The map below shows you where the instruments are located at the airport. 

Posted under Educational

M6.3 – 116 miles SSW of Port Hardy, Canada

Click on the image below to enlarge for more information.

TSUNAMI SEISMIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NWS WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER PALMER AK
604 PM PST WED NOV 7 2012

...THIS IS A TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT...

EVALUATION
----------
 * AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED - A TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED.

PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
---------------------------------
 * MAGNITUDE      6.3
 * ORIGIN TIME    1702 AKST NOV 07 2012
                  1802  PST NOV 07 2012
                  0202  UTC NOV 08 2012
 * COORDINATES    49.3 NORTH 128.4 WEST
 * DEPTH          27 MILES
 * LOCATION       85 MILES SW OF PORT ALICE BRITISH COLUMBIA
                  305 MILES NW OF SEATTLE WASHINGTON

Posted under Earthquake

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

UPDATED at 4:05 PM

Tonight:  Decreasing clouds and colder. Low: 27-31. Wind: Calm.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, warmer and breezy. High: 52-55. Wind: S 10-20 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Low: 34-37. Wind: SE 5-10 mph

Friday: Mostly cloudy. High: mid 50s.

Saturday: Partly to mostly cloudy, warm and windy (S 15-30 mph) with a 20% chance of rain/storms. High: mid 60s.

Sunday: Cloudy and windy (NW 15-25 mph) with a 60% chance of rain. High: low 50s…falling in the afternoon.

Monday: Decreasing clouds, colder and breezy (NW 10-20 mph). High: low 30s.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High: upper 30s.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High: low 40s.

Low temperatures this morning (see map below) were in the 30s. Thursday morning lows will be colder as the clouds clear overnight.
Dry weather will continue through Friday and possibly Saturday as well. There is just a slight chance of a shower/storm (20%). Low pressure will strengthen west of Iowa on Saturday. The wind will strong across eastern Iowa (S 15-20 mph and gusty). The temperatures will also reach the 60s for highs. These kinds of temperatures will not last long as a cold front is forecast to cross the area Saturday night/Sunday morning. Rain is likely Saturday night and Sunday.  The cold front will usher in much colder air Sunday. The highs on Sunday will be in the morning and fall into the 40s during the afternoon. The rain will end Sunday evening. The temperatures by Monday morning will be down into the low 20s. The two maps below are the ECMWF and GFS models for noon Sunday.

High pressure will dry things out during the first half of next week as temperatures slowly warm back into the low 40s by Wednesday.

According to the Climate Prediction Center (CPC), the 8-14 day outlook (Nov. 15-21) has Iowa with above normal temperatures and near normal precipitation.

College Football Forecast (Saturday) 

Purdue vs. Iowa (Iowa City)
Partly to mostly cloudy with a slight chance of a t-storm
Kickoff Temp: low 60s

UNI vs. South Dakota (Vermillion, SD)
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers.
Kickoff Temp: low 60s

Iowa State vs. Texas (Austin, TX)
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers.
Kickoff Temp: near 80

Posted under Forecast Discussion

From NWS
1991: Unusually early bitter cold temperatures settled across Iowa bringing the temperature below zero across nearly the entire state, with only far eastern and southeastern sections recording lows in the single digits above zero. Many stations set daily record lows and at numerous locations this is the earliest date on record on which the temperature has fallen below zero, including at Des Moines where the low was -3 F. The lowest reported temperatures in Iowa that morning included -12 F at Audubon, -13 F at Perry, -14 F at Le Mars, -15 F at Sheldon, -16 F at Guthrie Center, -17 F at Cherokee, and -19 F at Hawarden.

7 November 1837 → One of the most intense hurricanes ever to strike Hawaii brought winds of 115 mph to Hilo, killing 730 people. 7 November 1940 → The infamous Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Tacoma, WA collapsed in strong winds just four months after it opened. The winds caused the spans of the bridge to vibrate violently. Twisting motion caused the roadbed to tilt 45 degrees from horizontal one way and then the other until it finally collapsed.

Posted under Weather History