Chilly Starts...

The past few mornings have definitely had the feel of fall, with lows in the mid 40s to lower 50's throughout the state. Our neighbors up north (Minnesota) had freeze/frost warnings out last night, as lows dipped into the mid to upper 20's!! Tonight and following nights shouldn't be nearly as cool as the previous nights have been, with southerly winds increasing into mid-week we should see warming temperatures through Wednesday. Wednesday brings in the next chance of showers and thunderstorms to the state, with a cold front moving into the state. More details on any severe weather chances with this event will come in later updates...

Today's highs should warm nicely under clear sunny skies, especially after our morning start of well below normal temperatures. Mid 70s to mid 80s should be expected from northeast to southwest, with winds slowly shifting around to east to southeast. Overnight tonight you could see lows in the upper 40s once again in northeast Iowa, otherwise lower to mid 50s across the majority of the state. Tuesday's highs will vary from the mid 70s to mid 80s once again, majority of the state in the 80s and southerly winds continue to pull some moisture back into the state. Tuesday night lows in the mid 50s over eastern Iowa, where the western half of the state should see upper 50s and lower 60s along the Missouri River. The warmer temperatures in the west should be attributed to stronger winds just ahead of the cold front, and the potential for some cloud cover overnight as the front approaches.

The cold front should be in the state by Wednesday's sunrise, with the potential for a few showers to be ongoing. Otherwise cloudy skies along the front as it continues to push east/southeast over the state during the afternoon hours. Highs on Wednesday should range from the upper 70s to mid 80s, mainly north to south. The best chances of precip through Wednesday afternoon should be for the northwest quarter of the state. Wednesday night will feature showers and thunderstorms possible over much of the state, the only dry areas through the night may be both extreme northwest Iowa and extreme southeast Iowa. Lows in the upper 50s to lower 60s...

The front is seemingly slow to move out, as precip chances linger of the eastern half of the state for Thursday. Highs should range from the lower 80s north to the mid 80s south. Iowa State's home opener football game against South Dakota State should be under partly to mostly cloudy skies, kick-off temperature at 7 PM in the mid 70s with fairly light winds. Thursday night's precip chances only include the southeast quarter of the state, with the chances being fairly minimal. Lows over the state from the mid 50s in the northwest to the lower 60s in the southeast where some cloud cover will be lingering.

Friday marks the end of week 1 of school, plus the start of the Labor Day weekend. Highs expected to be within a few degrees of the 80-mark throughout much of the state under mostly sunny skies!