This post was written by Schnack on April 12, 2013
A Dry Week but Rain Possible for Weekend
UPDATED at 4:00 PM
Tonight: Clear and chilly. Low: 17-21. Wind: NW 5-10 mph.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny and warmer. High: NW 38-46. Wind: NW 10-15 mph.
Tuesday Night: Clear and chilly. Low: 17-20. Wind: NE 5-10 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High: near 50.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. High: upper 50s.
Friday: Mostly cloudy. High: upper 50s.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain. High: upper 50s.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain. High: low 50s.
Monday: Mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain. High: low 50s.
There are no in-person spotter training classes this week. There is just a webinar class.
| Wednesday April 3 |
7:00 p.m. | Anywhere | Webinar | Click here for information |
Training from surrounding NWS offices:
Posted under Forecast Discussion, NOAA
This post was written by Schnack on April 1, 2013
We are Tracking Rain for the Weekend
UPDATED at 4:20 PM
Tonight: Mostly clear. Low: 25-29. Wind: SE 5 mph.
Friday: Partly cloudy. High: 48-54. Wind: SE 5-10 mph.
Friday Night: Increasing clouds. Low: 32-35. Wind: S 5 mph.
Saturday: Cloudy with a 70% chance of rain. High: upper 40s.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy and breezy (NW 10-20 mph). High: mid-upper 40s.
Monday: Mostly cloudy, breezy (NW 10-20 mph) and colder. High: mid-upper 30s.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny and breezy (NW 10-20 mph). High: near 40.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High: mid 40s.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. High: low 50s.
There are a two storm spotter training classes left this week.
| Thursday March 28 | 6:30 p.m. | Grant | Fennimore, WI | Fennimore Fire Station |
| Thursday March 28 | 6:30 p.m. | Hardin | Alden | Public Library |
Training from surrounding NWS offices:
It is nice to see some locations today reach a high in the low 50s. High temperatures tomorrow will be a few degrees warmer than today. Clouds will increase Friday night as we continue to track the chance of rain for Saturday. Scattered rain showers are expected mainly in the afternoon. Here is the rain forecast from Friday evening to Saturday evening.
Sunday will be mostly with a gusty northwest wind behind the cold front. The colder air will start to move south during the afternoon with temperatures slowly falling in the afternoon. Monday will be much colder. So much for spring weather sticking around more than week. Monday and Tuesday will be cold with high temperatures in the mid to upper 30s. Monday will be the colder of the two days. The gusty northwest wind will make it feel that much colder. Take a look at the 850 mb map for Monday afternoon. The temperatures at about 5,000 ft will be 15-16 degrees Celsius below zero. That is some cold air for this time of year.
After this cold bump in the road temperatures will rebound back to the mid 40s Wednesday and low 50s Thursday. The temperatures bouncing up and down from day to day in the spring is normal.
Posted under Forecast Discussion, NOAA
This post was written by Schnack on March 28, 2013
Feeling More Like Spring
UPDATED at 4:10 PM
Tonight: Mostly clear. Low: 20-25. Wind: NE 5 mph.
Thursday: Mostly sunny. High: 43-48. Wind: SE 5-10 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Low: 26-29. Wind: SE 5 mph.
Friday: Partly cloudy. High: upper 40s and low 50s.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of rain. High: low-mid 50s.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy and breezy (NW 10-20 mph) with a 20% chance of rain. High: upper 40s.
Monday: Mostly cloudy and breezy (NW 10-20 mph). High: low 40s.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny and breezy (NW 10-20 mph). High: low 40s.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny and breezy (SW 10-20 mph). High: mid 40s.
There are a two storm spotter training classes left this week.
| Thursday March 28 | 6:30 p.m. | Grant | Fennimore, WI | Fennimore Fire Station |
| Thursday March 28 | 6:30 p.m. | Hardin | Alden | Public Library |
Training from surrounding NWS offices:
People are starting to be friendlier today with warmer weather. The trend for warmer weather continues into the weekend. High pressure is slow to move and will have an influence on our weather with sunshine and a light wind through Friday. The map below is the WPC forecast map for 1 pm Thursday.
High temperatures Friday will be near 50 degrees as the wind remains light. A few more clouds can be expected, but otherwise a beautiful spring day. We are still tracking the chance of rain for the weekend. The best chance of rain will be Saturday as the cold front pushes through the state in the afternoon. Rain amounts could be as high as 0.50” in some locations. Here is the rain forecast by WPC from Wednesday evening to Monday evening.
There is a secondary front forecast to move south through Iowa Monday morning. The front will have lots of clouds with it. Colder air is forecast to move south for Monday and Tuesday as high temperatures are going to be back into the upper 30s to low 40s. Here is the WPC forecast map for Monday morning.
High pressure moves south from Canada with dry and cool weather for the middle of next week.
Posted under Forecast Discussion, NOAA
This post was written by Schnack on March 27, 2013
Warmer Weather…Storm Spotter Class Info.
UPDATED at 4:10 PM
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low: 17-21. Wind: N 5 mph.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High: 36-40. Wind: NE 5-10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear. Low: 20-25. Wind: E 5-10 mph.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. High: low 40s.
Friday: Mostly cloudy. High: low 50s.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of rain. High: low 50s.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain. High: upper 40s.
Monday: Partly cloudy. High: mid 40s.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High: mid 40s.
There are a few storm spotter training classes this week.
| Date | Time | County | Town | Location |
| Tuesday March 26 |
6:30 p.m. | Dubuque | Dubuque | Dubuque County Emergency Management 14928 Public Safety Way |
| Tuesday March 26 | 7:00 p.m. | Cedar | Lowden | Lowden Fire Department |
| Tuesday March 26 |
6:30 p.m. | Winneshiek | Decorah | Decorah City Hall |
| Tuesday March 26 | 7:00 p.m. | Webinar | Anywhere | Click here for directions |
| Thursday March 28 | 6:30 p.m. | Grant | Fennimore, WI | Fennimore Fire Station |
| Thursday March 28 | 6:30 p.m. | Hardin | Alden | Public Library |
Training from surrounding NWS offices:
It will start to feel more like spring in the next few days. Afternoon highs will continue to be warmer than the previous day with highs reaching the low 50s Friday.
Tomorrow morning will be mostly sunny followed by clouds developing in the afternoon…during the heating of the day like they did today. No precipitation is expected. We have the afternoon clouds because of the 850 mb (5,000ft) temp is so cold. Here in Iowa it is -8C, but the 0C line extends as far south as the Gulf of Mexico (Texas to Florida). The tempearture profile is favorable for afternoon cloud development.
Dry weather will continue through Friday as high temperatures return to normal and it begins to feel like spring.
We are still tracking the chance of rain for the weekend. The cold front is forecast to push through Iowa Saturday afternoon/evening with scattered rain showers. Here is the GFS model for Saturday evening. Saturday has a better chance of rain than Sunday.
At this point, rain amounts will be less than 0.50” this weekend. Here is the WPC rain forecast map for Friday evening through Sunday evening.
Once the front pushes through cooler temperatures are forecast for Sunday through Tuesday with highs in the 40s. The wind will also be stronger from the northwest Sunday and Monday.
Posted under Forecast Discussion, NOAA
This post was written by Schnack on March 26, 2013
Dry Week…Storm Spotter Classes
UPDATED at 4:00 PM
Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Low: 19-23. Wind: N 5-15 mph.
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy. High: 33-37. Wind: NW 5-10 mph.
Tuesday Night: Decreasing clouds. Low: 16-21. Wind: N 5-10 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High: upper 30s.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. High: low 40s.
Friday: Mostly cloudy. High: upper 40s.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain. High: near 50.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain. High: upper 40s.
Monday: Mostly cloudy. High: mid 40s.
There are a few storm spotter training classes this week.
| Date | Time | County | Town | Location |
| Monday March 25 | 6:30 p.m. | Black Hawk | Waterloo | Hawkeye Community College Tama Hall |
| Tuesday March 26 |
6:30 p.m. | Dubuque | Dubuque | Dubuque County Emergency Management 14928 Public Safety Way |
| Tuesday March 26 | 7:00 p.m. | Cedar | Lowden | Lowden Fire Department |
| Tuesday March 26 |
6:30 p.m. | Winneshiek | Decorah | Decorah City Hall |
| Tuesday March 26 | 7:00 p.m. | Webinar | Anywhere | Click here for directions |
| Thursday March 28 | 6:30 p.m. | Grant | Fennimore, WI | Fennimore Fire Station |
| Thursday March 28 | 6:30 p.m. | Hardin | Alden | Public Library City of Alden |
Training from surrounding NWS offices:
There is a large area of low pressure in the east part of the nation and it is going to be slow to move. We are still being influenced by the low that is along the coast with a mostly cloudy sky today and a gusty north wind.
Tonight and Tuesday will remain mostly cloudy before the high pressure to our west moves east and gradually clears the clouds and lightens up the wind for Wednesday.
Thursday will be a nice day with a mix of sun and clouds as temperatures warm into the 40s by the afternoon. Friday clouds will increase as we track an area of low pressure to bring us a chance of rain for the weekend. High temperatures this weekend might reach the upper 40s…MAYBE 50… if there is enough dry time during the day Saturday.
The rain forecast from Monday evening to Saturday evening is light. Keep in mind the only chance of rain will be Saturday in the time frame of the map below.
Once the weekend is over there is a chance of cooler than normal temperatures and above normal precipitation expected. The maps below are from the Climate Prediction Center for April 2-8.
Posted under Forecast Discussion, Long Range Outlook, NOAA
This post was written by Schnack on March 25, 2013
Flood Outlook
The National Weather Service came out with the last scheduled flood outlook this spring unless needed.
The below graphics show the highlights from the three reports.
Click on the links below for more detailed information on the flood outlook.
This post was written by Schnack on March 7, 2013
Final Report on Sandy
Here is the final report from the National Hurricane Center on Super Storm Sandy. It is a little slow to load because it is a 157 page pdf.
This post was written by Schnack on February 13, 2013
2012 Iowa Tornadoes
It was a quiet year when it comes to tornadoes in Iowa and especially in eastern Iowa. The two graphics below give you the highlights to of the season
The map below shows you where the tornadoes were in the state. The only tornado in eastern Iowa was 2.9 miles NNW of Hawkeye in Fayette County on May 24.
Click here for more information about the tornadoes in Iowa from the National Weather Service.
Posted under NOAA, Severe Weather
This post was written by Schnack on January 2, 2013
