Rain & Freezing Weather!

The past few days have seen plenty of consistent showers pass over the state, with one piece of energy pulling through just in time for another to get in line and cross the state. The rainfall amounts over the past 72 hours were not too impressive, a majority of the rainfall came down either in slow and steady amounts or in a couple of isolated heavy showers that did not last too long. Nearly every ASOS (airport) weather station had at least a half inch of rain, a quick list of some are below:

Marshalltown - 0.88"
Sioux City - 0.86"
Des Moines - 0.85"
Ames - 0.84"
Estherville - 0.76"
Mason City - 0.76"
Ottumwa - 0.69"
Waterloo - 0.65"
Quad Cities - 0.55"
Iowa City - 0.49"


Now that the rain has past, and the skies have cleared, you throw in some strong northwest flow today turning to calm conditions overnight; we are left expecting the coldest night of the fall this year. A large portion of western Iowa has been put under either Freeze Warnings, or Frost Advisories. Lows overnight should range from the upper 20s in northwest Iowa, to the lower 30s across the rest of western Iowa. The central portion of the state should see mid 30s for lows; while the eastern third will be in the upper 30s. This could be a potential season ending freeze for parts of northwest Iowa; and with the wet conditions previous, it is something that the farmers likely did not want to see happen.

The highs for Thursday will not make it near the normal values, much like today. Highs expected to be in the mid 50s to upper 50s across the entire state. Precip chances and clouds will push into the forecast for Thursday night. Mainly northern Iowa seeing the clouds and chance for a few showers, lows overnight on Thursday will range from the mid 30s in northeast Iowa to the near 40 temperatures across southern Iowa. These precip chances were extended to last into the initial half of Friday over northern Iowa; with highs on Friday in the mid 50s to lower 60s from east to west.

We'll warm up nicely for the weekend, just before another front will pass through to knock our temperatures down for the work-week.