A Partially Dry Weekend...

After the days of rain and absolutely no sunshine over most of the state it was good to see the sun a little bit today and to at least have some dry surfaces. Yesterday finally had the low pressure system crossing over the state and taking the rain with it. Iowa managed to escape this powerful system which is responsible for at least 3 deaths and plenty of damage over the plains, only receiving heavy rain that prompted flood warnings. We did however manage to have some impressive pressure falls over the state, with several stations dropped down to near 980 millibars! My home station had a great drop through a 36 hour period where we went from 1010 mb down to 95 mb. On the backside of the low the strong pressure gradient contributed to some strong and gusty winds today, they will be much lighter tomorrow.

As for the forecast for tomorrow and the rest of the weekend, lows tonight in the lower to mid 40s across the state. Partly cloudy skies will allow for great football weather, now only if the Cyclones could play at least decent football, then it would be a great day. Highs in the 70s across the state, from the lower end in the northeast to within a degree or two of 80 in the southwest. Saturday night will have showers through Nebraska and South Dakota, not quite affecting the state for the overnight hours. Lows from the mid 40s in the northwest to the mid 50s in the southeast.

By Sunday morning expect some showers to be into western Iowa, overtaking the central portion of the state by mid-afternoon. Sunday night will have showers over a vast majority of the state, maybe a few breaks for the northwest corner. However expect the clouds and isolated showers to continue into the work week next week. Highs during the day on Sunday will have a sharp contrast dependent on the front location and cloud layer. Mid 50s over northwest Iowa where sun will be hard to come by, central Iowa may see a few lower 60s by Noon before the clouds take over. The eastern and especially southeastern portions of the state may see sunshine for a majority of the day, thus highs in their region may reach well into the 70s. Lows overnight on Sunday will also be highly variable as cold air makes its' way into northwest Iowa; 30s will be likely up there. For the central and eastern thirds of the state, 40s should be a reasonable range with some clouds still hanging around.

Questions remain on how long the rain will hang around the state during the work week, either way some cold air is working in behind the system. Looks to have 30s for lows and highs in the 50s through at least mid-week... More details for that in later updates.