Wet & Chilly

Not a bad day today with mostly cloudy skies and temperatures around the 70-degree mark here in Ames. Other portions of the state have seen occasional showers this afternoon, with cooler temperatures at those times. These conditions will be even worse come tomorrow afternoon, where the rain will be more heavier and widespread, and the temperatures even cooler. Thankfully it will be a one day occurrence, after which we'll warm up slowly and see some sunshine before more chances of showers and thunderstorms.

Mostly cloudy skies throughout the state tonight will keep low temperatures a little warmer. Expect showers to begin to move into the western third of the state by sunrise, and slowly overtake the state into the afternoon hours. Lows overnight should range from the mid 40s in northwest Iowa to the mid 50s in southeast Iowa. With mostly cloudy and/or rainy skies throughout the day tomorrow across the state, highs will be extremely hampered. The state will see highs only in the upper 50s or lower 60s, with northerly winds 10-20 mph. The rain, and most of the cloud cover, will be limited to eastern Iowa during the early nighttime hours. By sunrise the state should have partly cloudy skies throughout, with the temperatures dropping quickly.

Monday night lows will be very chilly, the coldest since springtime, as upper 30s to mid 40s will be present throughout the state. The mention of frost has been thrown around a few times in various weather discussions, but if it does occur it will be very localized and most likely in north-central Iowa.

Beyond Monday night, Tuesday and Wednesday should see only partly cloudy skies and warming temperatures ahead of our next storm system. Tuesday's highs in the mid 60s to near 70 from east to west across the state, with winds turning southerly with time. Tuesday night lows will range from the mid 40s to mid 50s from east to west again, with those southerly winds having a good effect in western Iowa. Wednesday's highs will be in the 70s throughout the state, from east to west in gradient. Wednesday night begins the next chance of precipitation in the form of rain and isolated thunderstorms. Lows overnight should be in the mid 50s to near 60 from northeast to southwest across the state...

More details on Wednesday and Thursday rainfall in later updates... The next update will also have a first look at the Iowa State vs Iowa football forecast for Saturday!