Iowa Weather Blog Presented by ILEC at Overlook Farm

STORMY DAYS: The storm we’ve been talking about the last few days is now on the doorstep of the state. The amounts of snowfall have come down substantially and have been shifted southward. This is the reason the Winter Storm Watch was cancelled over the northwest and moved into southwestern Iowa. Snowfall will be significant, but only for areas southwest of Des Moines where 3-5″ of snow is possible there. Lesser amounts off to the east. The northern counties may get by with only a few sprinkles or flurries as a high pressure center will be bringing drier air into the state from the northeast keeping a lot of the heaviest precipitation to the south and west of the state.

AFTERWARD: The storm moves off Sunday after bringing snow to the SW, Rain and a bit of wintry mix south of US Hwy 20 and colder readings. The rest of the following week looks rather seasonal with readings in the 30s (maybe a few 40s) with partly to mostly sunny skies.

MID-MONTH: The pattern changes a bit with a ridge over the west and trough over the east spilling cold arctic air into the eastern half of the country. Iowa will be in the battleground again. If this is right, some clipper systems may sweep by from time to time with a bit of precip, but this likely will change on the next run given the NAO still trending positive.

STORM AHEAD: The biggest weather event on the board is the upcoming storm this weekend. It will begin around midday Friday across the western counties and spread eastward throughout the day Saturday before ending early Sunday. It will begin in the form of rain or a wintry mix transferring to all snow over the western and northwestern counties. It should stay all rain with a wintry mix over the north until Saturday with a changeover to snow at that time. Amounts are still in question, however 6″+ is possible in the new Winter Storm Watch area. More watches, warnings and advisories are likely to be issued ahead of this system.

FOLLOWING THE EVENT: Temperatures will cool off, especially if we get any fresh snow on the ground. Readings will likely be back into the 20s and 30s across the state (dependent again on snow cover) The flow will be coming out of the northwest bringing some Canadian air to the state but nothing from the bitter cold that has been engulfing Alaska the last several weeks. Way at the end of the run another storm with possible significant snow will move across the area, but this will likely disappear on the next run.

SEASONALLY MILD: Temperatures are expected to be cooler for the rest of the week, but will remain above average for the early part of February. Highs will be in the upper 30s to near 50 dependent on snow cover. Skies will remain mostly sunny.

STORM FOR WEEKEND: The track still isn’t certain with this system Friday night through Sunday, but it still looks like there’s a good chance of some rain with some wintry mix possible Saturday into Sunday across the state. Best chances will be further to the south. Amounts could be decent with at least a half to three quarters of an inch possible, however it’s too early to determine any amounts of snow that may fall with the storm. The track could waiver more in coming runs.

QUIET AND COOLER: Heading into mid-February, temperatures may fall back to seasonal levels with some pushes of cooler air coming in from Canada. It won’t be of arctic origin by any means.

WARM SPELL: Temperatures made it to record territory across the southern half of the state yesterday with numerous locations reaching the 60s setting record high temperatures. While the far northern counties where there is still snow on the ground struggled to get out of the 40s. Some more warmth is in store today but likely not as warm as yesterday. A cold front will be moving through bringing some cooler air for the rest of the week. It is rather weak so any precipitation will remain very light if at all.

WEEKEND EVENT: An interesting storm has now shifted slightly north for the weekend on this run bringing the chance of some rain and snow beginning Friday and lasting through the early part of Sunday. A low pressure will develop over SW Kansas and Oklahoma and move northeastward through Missouri on Saturday. We’ll be on the cooler side of the storm, however temperatures will remain above freezing allowing the precip to be in the form of rain or a wintry mix. There could be some light accumulations of snow during the overnight hours as readings drop below freezing. More on this storm’s track in later videos.

CALM THEREAFTER: The pattern becomes quiet again heading into mid-February. A ridge over the west and a trough over the east will take the main storm track well to our north and east, leaving the state mainly dry through the middle of the month. It will also remain at or slightly above average with regards to temperature as well.