Warm Labor Day... Thunderstorms!

What a great weekend! It was nice and warm, actually above average with some of the highs today (Monday) reaching into the upper 80s and 90s throughout the state. Albeit windy during the festivities, the sunshine and temperatures allowed for some amazing outdoor times I'm sure. The overnights through the holiday weekend were on the chilly side, with clear skies and calm conditions quickly occurring after sunset, the lows dropped into the 50s for a majority of the state. Those chillier nights did mean one thing though, great campfire weather!

With the warm weather, and strong winds from the south, this led to some influx of moisture to the state that really hasn't seen more than a few days of solid rain over the entire previous month. A cold front sparked off numerous thunderstorms across the central Dakotas and central Nebraska. A severe thunderstorm watch was issued earlier this evening as a few storm in north-central Nebraska were capable of damaging winds. The storms have weakened with sunset, now scattered showers and thunderstorms exist behind the cold front that is moving across the plains. These storms and showers should continue through most of the overnight, and also redevelop with the sun tomorrow during the late-morning and afternoon hours.

The cold front should move into northwest Iowa during the morning hours tomorrow, with showers and thunderstorms following quickly along or just behind the front. Portions of northwest Iowa may see the best rainfall from the frontal passage as some of the upper level support may still be present during the morning hours. As the front continues to sag southeastward during the day, the upper level features are being displaced to the north. This, along with a few other factors, will likely cause the showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon hours to remain below severe thunderstorm limits. The total rainfall with the front may also decrease when compared to tonight's and the morning showers/storms. The front and its' showers/storms should be placed from northeast to southwest across the center of Iowa by tomorrow evening. Through the evening hours, and into the overnight, the showers and thunderstorms are likely to become very isolated and even nonexistent as you stretch south. Cloudy skies should be present throughout the southeastern half of the state during the overnight hours, with a shower or two possible.

As for temperatures tonight and into mid-week. Overnight lows tonight should be mild, ranging from near 70 in the southeast to near 60 in the northwest. Some sticky or humid conditions may be present over central and eastern Iowa, as dew points are also into the 60s. Tomorrow's highs will have a wide spread, as the cold front captures northwest Iowa before heating can occur while the southeast portions of the state receive another above average day of temperatures. Northwest Iowa behind the front should see only low 70s, while the southeast corner of the state will once again reach the 90-mark. Everywhere in between should see the upper 70s to mid 80s, as the cold front reaches across the state. Tuesday night temperatures just ahead of the front in southeast Iowa should be in the lower 60s. Across the the diagonal half of the state, lows should be in the 50s. The northwest portion of the state will have the strong influx of cool air, with lows dropping into the 40s.

Looking through the rest of the week, expect highs in the lower to mid 70s, and lows mainly in the 50s. The next chance of precipitation comes in on Friday and may last through the weekend, being widespread across the state. More details on the latter half of the week in later updates!