
UPDATED at 4:10 PM
Tonight: Cloudy with flurries or light snow shower possible. Low: 12-15. Wind: NW 10-15 mph.
Thursday: Decreasing clouds and windy. High: 16-20. Wind: NW 10-15 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Low: 4-8. Wind: W 5-10 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny. High: mid 20s.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with flurries possible. High: mid 20s.
Sunday: Mostly sunny. High: mid-upper 20s.
Monday: Mostly sunny. High: near 30.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High: near 30.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. High: low 30s.

I am tracking a cold front that is moving south through South Dakota this afternoon. The low is centered over northern Minnesota and a trough of low pressure extends south into Iowa. The leading edge of the clouds was along the trough. Here is the surface map from this afternoon.

As the cold front swings through Iowa tonight it will be cloudy with a few flurries possible. The cold front also reinforces the cold air in place with highs mainly in the teens Thursday. As the low/front move east, the clouds will clear from west to east during the afternoon Thursday.
Friday-Sunday: High temperatures during this time will be in the mid-upper 20s. A cold front is forecast to cross the state similar to the one tonight with clouds and a few flurries. The temperatures behind the front Saturday will not be colder.
Monday-Wednesday: High temperatures will reach 30 degrees and may be a few degrees above that. It will be dry during this time. There will be more clouds Wednesday with some possible precipitation Thursday next week. The map below shows the precipitation forecast from Wednesday evening to Wednesday evening.

The warmer weather will not last long. The GFS model is showing colder air will move south again by the end of the week and into the weekend of January 10. The map below is for Saturday morning January 10.
Posted under Forecast Discussion
This post was written by Schnack on January 2, 2013