(Radio Iowa) – The National Weather Service predicts a wet spring in eastern Iowa and a rising Mississippi River, so the city of Davenport is preparing for the possibility of major flooding. In the Quad Cities, flood walls and levees hold the river back from Bettendorf, Rock Island and East Moline, but not Davenport. The city’s choice to live with the river means flooding and that requires preparation. Nicole Gleason is Davenport’s public works director. “Really, if you look at it on a large scale, we’re really flooding a minimal amount of time in the big picture,” Gleason says, “so, kind of balancing that long-term interaction with the short-term needs of flooding.”

The weather service says there’s a 50-percent chance of major flooding, which for Davenport is 18 feet. Gleason says that would require closing River Drive, diverting many commuters driving between Muscatine and Bettendorf. Gleason says the flooding is part of the balancing act for a town that chooses to live with the river, rather than walling it off.  “Any time you’re setting up a temporary measure as opposed to a permanent measure, the goal is to maintain the river views,” she says, “to make sure that when we’re not flooding — which is the majority of the time — people can see the river, interact with the river, as opposed to putting up a permanent flood structure.”

City staff are practicing the deployment of flood barriers and pump stations and the city is urging residents to visit the city’s website to sign up for alerts and get more information. Gleason says as waters rise, the city uses a combination of HESCO flood barriers and pump stations to limit damage.

(by Zachary Oren Smith, Iowa Public Radio)

Today: Mostly sunny. High near 60. S/SW @ 20-35 mph.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 40. S @ 10-15.
Tomorrow: Mo. Cldy w/light rain becoming light snow in the afternoon. High 45 w/temps falling during the day. NW @ 10-20.
Friday: P/Cldy to Cldy w/flurries. High 28.
Saturday: P/Cldy.High 26.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 43. The Low was 11. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 57 and the Low was 25. The Record High on this date was 79 in 2003. The Record Low was 0 in 1944.

Today: Cldy w/areas of fog this morning; Becoming P/Cldy. High 39. S/SE @ 10-15 mph.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 30. S @ 10-15.
Tomorrow: Mo. Sunny, windy & warmer. High 58. S/SW @ 20-35.
Thursday: Cldy w/rain. A morning high of 48, then falling temps
Friday: Mo. Cldy & colder w/a chance of flurries.High 28.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 29. Our Low this morning, 12. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 59 and the Low was 27. The Record High on this date was 78 in 2012. The Record Low was -12 in 1975.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has finalized its state drought plan. D-N-R hydrology coordinator, Tim Hall, says the plan is a resource for state, county and local use. “We think it’ll give us a better opportunity to stay in front of drought conditions,” Hall says. The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Iowa Agriculture Department helped develop the plan. Hall says the plan also draws from the longtime U-S Drought Monitor and provides a more localized version of that national program. “The drought plan also provides schedules and structure for having discussions and meetings and providing information to local decision makers during times of drought,” Hall says. “So we think it’s going to be a good tool to both prepare for and respond to drought conditions.”

State climatologist Justin Glisten is one of the primary contributors of Iowa information to the U-S Drought Monitor — and Hall says he’s helped develop the components of this state plan. “For example, in northwest Iowa stream level stream flows are very important for groundwater resources. So we’ve got the ability to look at statistical analysis of streamflow around the state to help us be better prepared for drought conditions,” he says. The plan divides the state into five regions, and will provide information on the drought status in each area. “Right now there are eight counties in northwest Iowa that are in our drought region one that we classify as being in drought watch. So it’s the lowest level of drought situation in the state,” Hall says. “So we do recognize that that corner of the state does still have some drought challenges.”

Hall says they will tweak the state drought plan as needed. “We’re going to spend the next this next year using the drought plan — and I suspect we’re going to learn quite a bit as we put it into practice,” he says. “We anticipate issuing a new version of the drought plan in about a year based on experience we get here in this first year.” You can see the full Iowa Drought Plan at the D-N-R’s website: iowadnr.gov.

Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 28. Wind chill values as low as 5. North northwest wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 13. Wind chill values as low as 5. North wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Wind chill values as low as 5. South wind 7 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 54. Windy, with a south wind 18 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.
Thursday: Rain before 1pm, then rain, possibly mixed with snow. High near 55. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 27. Our Low this morning, 21. We received a trace of snow this morning (flurries). Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 61 and the Low was 21. The Record High on this date was 79 in 2012. The Record Low was -11 in 1998 & 1975.

Today: Increasing clouds, with a high near 29. Blustery, with a west northwest wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18. Wind chill values as low as 5. Blustery, with a northwest wind around 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 30. Wind chill values as low as 5. North northwest wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. South southeast wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 55. Windy.

Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 34. Our Low this morning, 22. We received 1-inch of snow Saturday, at KJAN. That melted down to .26″ of rain/liquid value. Last year on this date, the High was 32 and the Low was 1. The Record High on this date was 74,in 1938. The Record Low was -21 on 1998. Sunrise is at 7:37-a.m.. Sunset will be 7:37-p.m.

Today: Rain and snow, possibly mixed with sleet before 3pm, then snow, possibly mixed with rain. High near 34. Breezy, with a southeast wind 12 to 17 mph becoming northeast 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow and sleet accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Tonight: A chance of rain and snow before 7pm, then a chance of snow between 7pm and 10pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 24. Northeast wind 6 to 11 mph becoming west northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Sunday: Increasing clouds, with a high near 33. Windy, with a west northwest wind 13 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 31. North northwest wind 9 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 42. Breezy.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa D-N-R has finalized its state drought plan. D-N-R hydrology coordinator, Tim Hall, says the plan is a resource for state, county and local use — and should give them a better opportunity to stay in front of drought conditions. Hall says the plan also draws from the longtime U-S Drought Monitor and provides a more localized version of that national program. He says it provides schedules and structure for having discussions and meetings and providing information to local decision makers during times of drought.

The plan divides the state into five regions, and will provide information on the drought status in each area. You can see the full Iowa Drought Plan at the D-N-R’s website: iowadnr.gov.

Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. North northwest wind 5 to 13 mph becoming east in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. Breezy, with a southeast wind 7 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

Tomorrow: Snow before noon, then rain and snow between noon and 3pm, then rain after 3pm. High near 36. Breezy, with a southeast wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 8 to 13 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 33. Windy.

Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 32. Breezy.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 36. We received 1.1 inches of snow (after 7-a.m.), which melted into .13″ liquid value. The Low was 25. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 23 and the Low was 14. The Record High on this date was 76 in 2021. The Record Low was -8 in 1948. The TOTAL snowfall from Thursday’s snow event was 3.3 inches at KJAN.

Here are some reported snowfall amounts from around the area:

KJAN        3.3 inches total (2.2″ up until 7-a.m.)

Oakland:  3.5 inches

Tabor:      2.5 inches

Walnut:   2.0 inches