First Days of August Forecast

Only one more day remains of July, then we hit the month of August; which often features some of the warmest temperatures of the year. By the looks of the forecast, it is likely that we come into the month with temperatures in the 90s and a chance of thunderstorms as well...

Tonight will remain dry with lows in the lower to mid 60s from east to west across the state. Expect clear skies once again on Tuesday, with temperatures rising a couple more degrees; highs in the upper 80s to low 90s throughout. Moisture will begin to work its' way in as well on Tuesday, which will only allow the nighttime temperatures to drop into the mid to upper 60s from east to west across the state.

Wednesday will bring the first slight chances of afternoon thunderstorms in the picture for western Iowa. Highs during the afternoon should reach into the lower 90s across much of the state. Expect thunderstorms to develop during the evening hours in areas of SD/NE/MN along a frontal boundary; these storms should move into northwestern Iowa during the nighttime hours and may also affect other portions of the northwestern half of the state by sunrise. Lows during the night should remain in the mid to upper 60s.

The speed of the system moving through will play an important role in any thunderstorm chances on Thursday, currently only slight chances across the state during the day and into the nighttime hours. Highs on Thursday won't change much, upper 80s to lower 90s from northwest to southeast. Lows from the mid 60s in the northwest to near 70 in the southeast where the best chances of rain remain in the forecast.

We'll finish off the week with another nice day, but another fast moving storm system on the horizon. Some showers/thunderstorms may be possible, especially across northern Iowa on Friday night. Highs in the upper 80s & lower 90s; lows in the mid to upper 60s. The weekend comes in with plenty of questions for the forecast, mainly in terms of precipitation as we seemingly enter a regime of isolated thunderstorms/showers across the state. Still plenty warm and somewhat humid throughout the weekend, although those isolated storms may play with some of the weekend plans.

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Beautiful End of July

The forecast has some great weather for the end of July, and the beginning of August for that matter. Todays' highs in the mid 80s throughout the state with clear to partly cloudy skies; tonights' lows will drop to the low to mid 60s under the same conditions. Highs tomorrow in the mid 80s to upper 80s as warm air from the west continues to flow into the state. Sunday night has lows in the upper 50s to mid 60s from east to west to end the weekend with nice sleeping weather.

The work week begins with the warm air continuing into the state, highs in the upper 80s and lower 90s throughout the state. Lows on Monday in the lower 60s to mid 60s as moisture also begins to work back into the area with the aid of the crops. Upper 80s and lower 90s expected for highs on Tuesday and Wednesday as well; with lows in the mid to upper 60s as well. By Wednesday night however we will see another system work into the state, bringing with it a chance of rain. With this system so far out, details on the timing of this system are still in question; thus several NWS offices are leaving small chances of precipitation in the forecast from Wednesday night through Friday. Expect only a night or day to have this system pass through the area, much like the past ones. Not much of a temperature difference with the passing of this system, highs still expected in the upper 80s with lows in the mid 60s.

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Life with a Job

Most of this summer has been spent on trips; a Florida vacation in mid-May, traveling the northern plains storm chasing in June. Now as school is nearing and apartment rent to pay, books to pay for, and other things that all require money, including the always expensive fuel-up. That has put me on a search for a job that will hire me for less than a month and pay me a decent amount. Well I found that job a couple of weeks ago and since Monday of last week I have been working for Monsanto (Dekalb) out of Spencer, Iowa doing several jobs out in the corn fields for them. This is the reason behind the slacking in the blog department, and for that I apologize. I hope you continue to check in on the blog, as by August 10th this job will be complete and I will be preparing for school and the move into my new apartment in Ames. In the mean time, I'll be sparse with updates unfortunately; however check in if you can just in case I do have the time to fill you in on any happenings. Thanks...

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Morning Thunderstorms

Waking up to thunderstorms over central Iowa this morning, with some severe weather occurring overnight near Waterloo. Several clusters of thunderstorms, with a couple of strong storms scattered throughout the line that stretches from Minneapolis to Missouri. These storms are actually moving southwestward, thus areas of central Iowa and western Iowa can expect these thunderstorms to move through their area as we head through the morning hours.

These thunderstorms will likely only come through with some rumbles of thunder and gusty winds for the most part. However some of the stronger cells may be capable of some higher wind gusts near 40 mph and small hail, along with the threat for frequent lightning as well. RAGBRAI riders may experience some of these thunderstorms on their ride from Spencer to Humboldt today, hopefully they are being told of the threat that they may encounter as these storms enter their area.

Despite the morning thunderstorms, skies should clear off by the afternoon hours and enable to the temperature to rise up into the 80s throughout the state. Eastern Iowa may likely see sunshine earlier as the storms have already moved west of their area. Through mid-week this week it looks to be clear skies for the most part across the state, temperatures ranging from the mid 80s to the lower 90s for highs and nighttime temperatures fairly comfortable in the mid to upper 60s.

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Cooling Off

After sweltering heat for a couple of days and a couple of rounds of thunderstorms, the weather finally looks to cool off for the end of the week. Yesterday saw temperatures once again rise into the 90s over some parts of the state, while others stayed cloudy and raining, keeping highs around average in the mid 80s. These warm temperatures combined with the moisture we had in the area allowed for more thunderstorms to develop over northwest Iowa yesterday, making their way southeastward and eventually becoming severe in central Iowa. Those storms were once again damaging with strong winds up to 80 mph in some areas of the state. Late last night, more storms fired up along the NE/SD border and into Iowa along the same axis, allowing for more warnings to be issued and reports to come in of damaging winds once again, along with some small hail reports.

The severe weather threat today has finally moved south, along with the cold front. This is going to mean a nice cool day for the state, with sunny skies still in some areas. This morning there are still some showers/thunderstorms in southern Iowa, which will also help keep temperature down today with clouds remaining overhead until the afternoon hours. Lower 80s will be the expected highs for the day, with lows tonight dropping into the 50s allowing for some good sleeping weather compared to the last several nights.

Fridays' highs in the lower 80s to mid 70s from west to east as the cold air finally pushes in after the cold front. Lows in the lower 50s to some lower 60s already back in the western portions of the state. The weekend will have the temperatures rising once again, Saturdays' highs in the upper 80s already in the west; with lower 80s in the east part of Iowa. Sunday will add a few more degrees to the temperature, with lower 90s in the forecast for western Iowa and mid 80s for eastern Iowa. Lows during the weekend in the upper 60s to upper 50s on Saturday, 60s across the state on Sunday night before beginning another work week with temperatures expected in the 90s across the state.

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Finally... Thunderstorms!

Slight changes in the forecasted path of storm systems, as well as the system stalling out over the plains has allowed the forecast to change since I last posted. Yesterday had the first round of storms come through, with some developing in eastern Iowa while others moved into the state from southwest Minnesota. Damaging winds were the biggest reports of the day over the state, however the storms that did also produce large hail did it with some significant sizes! Black Hawk county received several reports of hail larger than an inch, but the largest came in at sizes nearing softballs. One tornado report to speak of as well, 7 miles west of Haskins, IA had the sheriff report a tornado. The Davenport NWS Office also confirmed a tornado had touched down in Washington, this one has received a rating of EF1 with winds nearing 100 mph. A full report of the tornado can be found on the Davenport NWS Page.

More thunderstorms are possible today across the state, as a stationary front continues to be draped across the state from west to east. The better chances for storms looks to be in the eastern half of the state, where large hail and damaging winds, along with the threat for a tornado or two exists. Storms may develop in SD/MN and move into northern Iowa this evening as well; these also will be capable of large hail, potentially significant, as well as damaging winds and a tornado or two also cannot be ruled out if storms move into this area.
The thunderstorm chances will continue into tomorrow, as the system continues to only slowly move eastwards. The SPC has once again put nearly the entire state under a slight risk for severe weather. The risk does seem less severe as in the previous days however, nonetheless large hail and damaging winds cannot be rules out.

Temperatures during this time will be well above normal, with upper 90s in western Iowa today and near 90 in the rest of the state. Tomorrow much of the same with temperatures expected in the mid 80s where showers may begin the day, to the mid 90s where clearer skies exist. Thursday and Friday finish off the week with temperatures in the 80s throughout the state... Lows tonight and tomorrow will be in the upper 60s to lower 70s from north to south; with upper 50s to lower 60s by Thursday night and much the same expected on Friday.

Updates to the page may come a little less frequent, I'm currently working a job that is taking quite a bit of time up to earn some money before heading back to college. I'll hopefully keep up the posts to at least every other day... Thanks for reading and hope you continue to do so!

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Warm Up Continues...

The temperature during the day has slowly rose the past couple of days, where highs are now reaching for the 90 mark today. Mid 80s to lower 90s are the forecasted highs for the state today, from northeast to southwest respectively. By tonight, some cloud cover as well as isolated thunderstorms may move into northern Iowa. Lows in the 60s across the state, with some lower amounts where the rain may move through.

By the morning hours on Monday, some showers/thunderstorms may still be in northeast Iowa; otherwise mostly clear skies will hold across the state. This will once again allow the temperature to rise, mid 80s in northeast Iowa; with upper 80s to mid 90s across the rest of the state where a day full of sunshine is expected. Monday evening may see some redevelopment of thunderstorms over the eastern half of the state, into the overnight hours as well. Lows in the mid 60s to even some 70 marks will be widespread across the entire state.

The rest of the week looks amazing as far as summer forecasts go, although some isolated thunderstorms chances still in the forecast through midweek for eastern Iowa. The rest of the state will be enjoying the clear skies and highs above normal for the entirety of the week. Tuesdays' highs will range from the mid 80s to mid 90s from east to west; Wednesdays' highs from the 90 mark to some upper 90s along the MO River will hold into Thursday as well. Friday may have temperatures drop a couple of degrees before the start of the weekend though... Lows during this time will remain fairly steady, from the upper 60s in the northeast to the mid 70s in the southwest. Look forward to a great week ahead...

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One More Cool Day...

The past couple of days have been considerably cooler than weeks previous, with highs only in the 70s for most of the state and lows dropping down into the 50s. Today looks to be similar, but this should be the last day that this occurs as we look to enter the weekend with rising temperatures and increasing moisture.

Today will feature some clouds across the state, with isolated thunderstorms also being possible in southern Iowa. Highs will be in the upper 70s and lower 80s for most of the state, given that it may be cool today when underneath clouds. Lows tonight should once again be in the 50s across the state...

Friday will begin the warm-up for the weekend, clear skies will allow for temperatures in the upper 70s over northeast Iowa; while 80s should occur over the remainder of the state. Lows will be on the rise as well for Friday night, with lows in the upper 50s and lower 60s across the state with increased moisture. With the weekend, as mentioned the temperature will rise quickly into a more summer-like feel. Highs expected in the lower 80s in northeast, with upper 80s possible in western and southern Iowa. The same expected on Sunday, with just a few degrees added on; especially in western Iowa. Lows during the weekend expected in the upper 50s to mid 60s from east to west on Saturday night, however by Sunday with moisture continuing to come into the state and the warm daytime temperatures the low should only drop into the lower to mid 60s. Expect the warm temperatures to continue into the work week, with some chances of rain in the forecast; a much welcome site to most of the state.

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Scattered Thunderstorms

Some thunderstorms yesterday over eastern Iowa due to the cold front moving past the state, other thunderstorms also occurred behind the front in central Iowa during the morning hours. Total precipitation was generally a couple of tenths, however some areas received greater than an inch; Ames (1.12") and Davenport (1.70") were two of those areas. Highs across the state yesterday were in the 80s for the most part, however some areas that were just ahead of the slow moving cold front managed 90s once again with mid 90s in the southeast corner of the state.

Woke up to 60s and some lower 70s in the southern half of the state this morning, temperatures should rise slowly in the western 2/3rds of the state where a second cold front has already made its' way through. Highs in the western 2/3rds of the state will range mid 70s to mid 80s, with eastern Iowa capable of upper 80s and maybe even a 90 reading. The second cold front of the week is likely to spark off a few thunderstorms in eastern Iowa, some of which could pulse up to severe limits during the late afternoon hours. By tonight the front and thunderstorms should have moved through the remainder of the state, slowly clearing the skies in eastern Iowa as well. Lows will range from the lower 50s in northwest Iowa to near 60 in southeastern Iowa...

The remainder of the week will only bring a chance of showers/isolated thunderstorm on Wednesday night and Thursday. Otherwise dry with highs in the upper 70s & lower 80s, slowly warming through the weekend. Lows will start out in the mid 50s to near 60 across the state, by this weekend more moisture will make its' way into western Iowa and thus keep lows into the lower 60s; while upper 50s should remain across the rest of the state.

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A couple of new pictures, both sunsets from the past week. The first is July 3rd, mammatus clouds from other storms in northwest Iowa allowed for this image. The second one is from last night, although clouds on the horizon didn't allow for a great one; a plane moving through just before sunset allowed for this image.

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A 'Cool' Summertime Week Ahead

Well the holiday week is finally over, it brought with it temperatures that were above normal as well as the occasional thunderstorm. Now, the week after looks to bring us with a little cooler than average temperature and less of a chance at thunderstorms. A look back to the beginning of this week, highs were in the 90s throughout the state; in fact every station expect for one of the Davenport ones were at least 91 degrees, with a highest of 100 that was measured in Webster City. Thunderstorms developed in the early nighttime hours from Sioux City to Emmetsburg to the IA/MN border. These continued to work their way south and east into the night, putting a couple of tenths of an inch of rain down. None of these storms managed to reach severe limits while in the state however...

This morning we do have some lingering thunderstorms hanging on, stretching from Atlantic to Ames. Expect some isolated thunderstorms over the southeastern half of the state during the afternoon hours, otherwise partly cloudy to clear skies will hold across the state. Highs near 90 in the southeast, mid 80s in the northwest; Lows tonight in the mid 60s to lower 70s from northwest to southeast with some thunderstorms still possible in the southeast.

Tuesday will have another round of thunderstorms moving across the state, with some portions of the state having some chance of severe weather during the afternoon hours. The frontal passage during the day here will bring down temperatures to below normal readings, highs in the upper 70s in northwest Iowa while 80s still expected in front of the system. By Tuesday night the system will likely exit the state, allowing for low temperatures to fall into the 50s throughout much of the state.

The rest of the week looks to remain dry, with little in temperature fluctuation as well. Highs in the upper 70s and lower 80s look to hold firmly across the state at least until the weekend, when west winds may once again bring in the summertime heat for the next week. Lows during this time will also be fairly steady, mid 50s to lower 60s across the state of Iowa...

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Week in Review & Look Ahead

Started the week on the road, heading to Denver, CO to return the vehicles from project TWISTEX, left Ames, IA around 7:30 am CDT and arrived in Lakewood, CO at 5:45 MDT. Ate supper at the Samaras household, featured grilled cheeseburgers, potato salad and some green pepper chili which we all attempted to eat before realizing it was simply too hot for our tastes. The evening featured tornado video and talk about several things related to weather and research projects that were ongoing and expected to occur. I ended my night around midnight, while other members met up with previous classmate from Iowa State to head downtown. This left me with a little extra sleep and the opportunity to wake up early on Monday to take in the views that the Denver surrounding had to offer. Here are a few thumbnails of the picture I have to offer, more can be seen in the Denver, CO Photo Album.



The return trip left Denver by 9:30 MDT, traveling to Ogallala, NE for dinner and refuel; then blasted through the remainder of the state and halfway across Iowa to arrive in Ames by 8:45 CDT. Didn't stay long there as I still wanted to make the trip home that night, the 2 1/2 hour long trip seemed like nothing after traveling nearly 11 hours the day before and already that day. Arrived at my girlfriends house around 11:30 PM that night, ending the travels for the TWISTEX project this year.

I've spent the rest of the week doing random things, enjoying the holiday with 2 firework shows and a concert up at the Iowa Great Lakes. Now relaxing for the rest of the month, or at least for another week or so... Some severe storms moved through on the 3rd, nothing much to see however structure wise or even as far as hail sizes go across northwest Iowa. A nice shower moved through yesterday as well, creating a nice scene for the sunset last night. Expecting hot conditions for the weekend over the state, with highs in the 90s and maybe even a couple 100 readings. The next chance of rain will move in for the work week, with scattered thunderstorms becoming possible along with our next cold front moving through. The forecast doesn't look great for severe weather, however I wouldn't rule it out quite yet.

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Denver

Arrived in Denver just before 6 PM MDT, technically I should be saying Lakewood, CO as that is the town that we are in. The southwest suburbs of Denver is our stay for the night...

I'm thinking about getting up fairly early to maybe get some shots of the mountains some time, as I can't be this close to them and not get a good picture of them. I'll update again probably after the holiday as the drive home tomorrow will take up all of the day and into the night to get back home from Ames. Then the holiday is here and the celebration and family festivities can begin. So look for the next update to have pictures from the trip to Denver and back, hopefully with the mountains!

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