Highs early this morning were near 60. Lows tomorrow will be near 0. Oh, and 4-6″ of snow…
January 29th, 2013 by Ric Hanson
More big changes in the weather are coming. After an ice storm Sunday and an about-face with highs yesterday in the 50s and 60s, thunderstorms rolled over Iowa last night. The daytime high in Atlantic Monday was 47, but overnight, the temperature rose to 57 before falling back to 35 degrees by 5-a.m. The 24-hour high of 57 was just one-degree shy of tying the record high for Jan. 28th. The temperature rise overnight caused Red Oak to set a new 24-hour high of 61-degrees.
Forecasters say temperatures will drop today and a Winter Storm Watch is now posted for counties from southwest to central to northeast Iowa. Meteorologist Aubrey Wilkins, at the National Weather Service, says make sure your snowblower is full of gas. There’s the chance of heavy snow, with four to six inches possible across parts of central Iowa. Wilkins says the topsy-turvy weather will continue tomorrow as an arctic blast will make its way toward Iowa.
Wilkins says lows by tomorrow night will be in the single digits or below zero, a turnaround in two days of 60 degrees. High temperatures by the weekend will likely be back in the 20s and 30s, more the norm for the season.
(Radio Iowa & KJAN’s Ric Hanson contributed to this report)