7 AM Friday-7 AM Saturday

Posted under Precipitation Totals

From NWS
1986: A line of thunderstorms moved eastward across Iowa producing large hail and heavy rain. These storms produced two million dollars in hail damage in Council Bluffs alone and were also responsible for flash flooding at various locations across the state. In Spirit Lake lightning struck a grocery store opening a small hole in the roof.

12 May 1965 → A tropical cyclone hit Bangladesh killing 36,000 people. 12 May 1971 → A chain reaction car accident happened near Casa Grande, AZ after dust storms reduced visibility to near zero. Seven people were killed.

Posted under Weather History

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:  Mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers. Low: 48-52. Wind: N 5-15 mph.

Saturday: Decreasing clouds. High: 66-69. Wind: NE 5-15 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear. Low: 42-48. Wind: NE 5 mph.

Sunday: Mostly sunny. High: near 70.

Monday: Mostly sunny. High: mid 70s.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High: mid-upper 70s.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High: upper 70s.

Thursday: Partly cloudy. High: upper 70s.

Friday: Partly cloudy. High: upper 70s.

This Evening/Tonight: The sky will become mostly cloudy this evening and remain that way overnight. There cold front is crossing eastern Iowa as the forecast is being posted on the blog (see map below). There is a cap that will prevent any storms ahead of the front.

Saturday/Saturday Night: Clouds will linger into the morning and then clear during the afternoon. High temperatures will be cooler behind the front. The sky will clear Saturday night. The map below is for Saturday morning.

Sunday (Mother’s Day): High pressure across the middle of the country will provide lots of sunshine and a light wind. The map below is for Sunday evening.

Extended Forecast (Mon-Fri): Monday will be more of the same but a few degrees warmer…reaching the mid 70s. A warm front will cross eastern Iowa Tuesday with a few more clouds. I will keep the forecast dry right now. I am not confident enough in the model guidance to add the chance of showers to the forecast at this point. Right now Tuesday is far enough away to hold off on adding it to the forecast. I will wait a few more model runs. Wednesday through Friday…the warm front is forecast to be north of Iowa (across Minnesota) putting us in the warmer and more humid air mass. We will track the position of the warm front during this period of time. If the forecast models change and push the front south, I will have to add the chance of showers/storms to the forecast and lower the temperatures.

Long Range Forecast (May 19-25) The Climate Prediction Center has Iowa with above normal temperatures and above normal precipitation.

Posted under Forecast Discussion

We would like to congratulate Edgewood, IA on renewing their community in the StormReady program. They will continue to be a community ready for severe weather and flooding threats. Here is the official press release.

Click on the logo below for more information on the StormReady program.

Posted under NOAA, Severe Weather

It’s official. La Niña has come to an end. The Climate Prediction Center reported that the La Niña had dissipated during April and conditions are currently neutral. The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting neutral conditions until the end of the summer. However, an El Niño may develop by September and could affect our winter weather. We will have to continue to track it as the fall months draw closer.

Here is the Climate Prediction Center’s current summer outlook for the United States:

For more information on La Niña/El Niño conditions, visit the Climate Prediction Center.

Posted under Climate

From NWS
2000: Severe thunderstorms produced large hail and at least seven tornadoes across northeastern Iowa including one that killed one person and injured 25 others as it produced F3 damage near Dunkerton, affecting some of the same areas that would be struck by the EF5 Parkersburg tornado eight years later. The largest reported hail stones were the size of baseballs, falling near Dorchester in Allamakee County.

1966: Rain fell across Iowa on May 10-11 and became heavy at times with many locations recording amounts of 1 to 3 inches. Amazingly, unseasonably cold air allowed the rain to mix with sleet and snow at times overnight and into the morning of the 11th resulting in light accumulations, mainly in northeastern Iowa. Reported snowfall amounts included a trace at Des Moines, 0.5 inches at Cedar Rapids, Mason City, New Hampton, and Osage, 1.0 inches at Anamosa, Estherville, Hampton, and Manchester, 1.1 inches at Cascade, 1.3 inches at Maquoketa, and 3.1 inches at Dubuque where this remains the heaviest May snowfall on record. Only two or three fairly widespread accumulating snowfall events have ever occurred in Iowa at a later date in the year.

11 May 1894 → A six inch by eight inch gopher turtle, encased in ice, fell from a thunderstorm at Bovina, MS. 11 May 1953 → An F5 tornado smashed downtown Waco, TX. Hundreds of buildings and thousands of cars were demolished. Many homes were leveled, and 114 people lost their lives along the 23 mile path of the tornado. 11 May 1970 → An F5 tornado struck the city of Lubbock, TX killing 26 persons, injuring more than 1500 others, and causing $135 million in damage. It was the most destructive tornado ever up until that time. The twister hit a 30-story building in downtown Lubbock, twisting the structure and blowing out all the windows, but leaving it intact. The building still stands today.

Posted under Weather History

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: Clear. Low: 48-52. Wind: S 5-10 mph.

Friday: Partly cloudy, breezy and warmer with a 20% chance of showers/storms in the evening. High: 77-81. Wind: SW 10-20 mph.

Friday Night: Partly to mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers. Low: 49-53. Wind: N 5-15 mph.

Saturday: Decreasing clouds. High: upper 60s.

Sunday: Mostly sunny. High: near 70.

Monday: Mostly sunny. High: low-mid 70s.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High: mid 70s.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High: mid-upper 70s.

Thursday: Partly cloudy. High: upper 70s.

This Evening/Tonight: After a perfect spring day, due to high pressure centered over IL/WI/MO…the weather tonight will be just as nice. The surface map below is from early this afternoon.

The sky will be clear with a light wind from the south. Low temperatures tonight will not be as chilly as the last few nights.

Friday/Friday Night: The day will start out sunny. A cold front will approach the area from the west during the afternoon with a clouds building in the afternoon. As the front arrives during the evening, there is a chance of isolated showers/storms to develop and the chance continues until about midnight. The map below shows the position of the front at 7 PM.

No severe weather is expected, widespread rain is not expected and if you do get rain it will be light. Ahead of the cold front there will be a gusty SW wind and warmer temperatures…most locations will come close to 80 degrees. The map below is the rain amount forecast from Thursday evening to Saturday evening.

Saturday: The front will push south followed by high pressure. The sky will gradually clear during the afternoon hours. High temperatures will be cooler behind the front with the wind from the north (5-15 mph). Saturday night the sky will become clear.

Extended Forecast (Sun-Thu): Not this is going to be a beautiful stretch of weather. Partly cloudy to mostly sunny days are ahead with a light wind and highs near 70 Sunday and gradually warming into the upper 70s Wednesday and Thursday.

Long Range Forecast (May 18-24) The Climate Prediction Center has Iowa with above normal temperatures and above normal precipitation.

Posted under Forecast Discussion

Drought conditions are not new to Iowa. Severe drought conditions began forming across Iowa around October 11, 2011 and thanks to the mild weather continued to increase in coverage across the state. Below are pictures from the U.S. Drought Monitor website that shows the conditions across the Midwest and Iowa on May 1, 2012. The dark brown indicates a severe drought, light brown is moderately dry and yellow is abnormally dry.

However, conditions have improved significantly in one week. The U.S. Drought Monitor released this outlook today valid May 8, 2012. Check out the difference:

Huge improvements were seen not only in Iowa but up into Minnesota and Wisconsin. The severe drought conditions have been downgraded to moderate conditions. More rain is needed across NW Iowa to end the drought but the rain last week helped a lot.

How much did it rain across the state? Click on the following link.

Posted under Agriculture, Drought