Today…Mostly sunny. A 20 percent chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. High in the lower 80s. South wind near 10 mph.

Tonight…Partly cloudy. Warmer. Low in the mid 50s. South wind around 5 mph.

Friday…Mostly sunny. High in the upper 70s. South wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to around 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night…Partly cloudy through midnight then becoming mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. Low in the lower 60s. South wind 10 to 15 mph.

Saturday…Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. Breezy. High in the upper 70s. South wind 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph.

Saturday Night…Mostly cloudy. Low around 60.

Sunday And Sunday Night…Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. Breezy. High in the mid 70s. Low in the upper 50s.

Monday…Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. High in the lower 70s.

Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon says that the communities of Atlantic and Griswold will begin testing their Outdoor Warning Sirens (Tornado warning siren) every Friday at noon, beginning this Friday, March 16th.  Kennon says the siren tests will not occur on days where there is a threat of severe weather.

Here is the forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area, and the weather stats for Atlantic…

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A new record High temperature was set in Atlantic, Tuesday, when we reached 79-degrees here at KJAN, the official National Weather Service record-keeping and reporting site for the community. The old record was 76, set as recently as 2007. Prior to that, the record was 73, in 1933.  The Weather Service says we can expect to see a new record high temperature set today, and near record highs for Thursday and Friday. The record high for March 14th in Atlantic was 72 degrees in 1908. We expect to blow that away today, as the Weather Service is calling for a high of 80.  

53-years ago on this date, a major Winter storm hit Iowa, and lasted for three-days.  The precipitation began as rain in the southwest part of the State, and left a total of 8-to 10-inches on the ground.

339 AM CDT WED MAR 14 2012

…RECORD HIGHS TODAY……NEAR RECORD HIGHS THURSDAY……NEAR RECORD HIGHS FRIDAY…

TODAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH AROUND 80. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 50S. NORTH WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

THURSDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE UPPER 70S. SOUTH WIND NEAR 10 MPH.

THURSDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 50S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 70S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. LOW IN THE UPPER 50S. HIGH IN THE MID 70S.

SUNDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH IN THE MID 70S.

A reminder from KJAN and Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon: The 2012 Annual Cass County National Weather Service Storm Spotter Program training will be held Wednesday night, in Lewis. The free program is open to the general public, and is recommended for emergency responders. It takes place in the Lewis Fire Station, beginning at 7-p.m. Wed., March 14th.

Each year, meteorologists with the National Weather Service (NWS) travel to most of the 51 counties they serve to provide a comprehensive multi-media spotter training presentation. The classes are hosted by local emergency management officials, fire departments and a few amateur radio clubs. There are several opportunities for you to attend one of these classes free of charge. The classes typically last one-to two-hours.

The courses cover information about severe weather climatology, severe thunderstorm types, different weather threats and how to identify them, how to report severe weather, spotter safety and severe weather communications. For more information, contact Mike Kennon, at 712-254-1500.

Here is the forecast for Atlantic and the KJAN listening, and, the weather stats for Atlantic….

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(Issued 4:01-a.m.)

Today…Sunny…warmer. Patchy fog through mid morning. High in the upper 70s. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight…Mostly clear. Warmer. Low in the mid 50s. South wind 10 to 15 mph.

Wednesday…Mostly sunny. High in the upper 70s. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Wednesday Night…Partly cloudy. Low in the lower 50s. South wind near 10 mph.

Thursday…Mostly sunny. High in the upper 70s. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday Night And Friday…Mostly cloudy. Low in the mid 50s. High in the mid 70s.

Friday Night…Partly cloudy. Low in the upper 50s.

403 AM CDT TUE MAR 13 2012 …PATCHY DENSE FOG CONTINUES OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA…

FOG HAS DEVELOPED OVER MUCH OF THE AREA EARLY THIS MORNING. PATCHY DENSE FOG WITH VISIBILITY LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE AT TIMES HAS ALSO DEVELOPED GENERALLY BETWEEN THE HIGHWAY 18 AND INTERSTATE 80 CORRIDORS.

THE FOG IS LIKELY TO CONTINUE THROUGH 830 AM CDT AND MAY EXPAND SOMEWHAT ACROSS THE AREA PRIOR TO SUNRISE. PERSONS TRAVELING EARLY THIS MORNING SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR AREAS OF DENSE FOG AND VERY LOW VISIBILITY.

REMEMBER TO ALLOW YOURSELF EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION SAFELY. USE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS AND SLOW DOWN IN AREAS WHERE VISIBILITY IS EXCEPTIONALLY LOW. THE MORNING COMMUTE WILL GENERALLY TAKE LONGER AND EXTRA CAUTION IS ADVISED WHILE TRAVELING THIS TUESDAY MORNING.

CONDITIONS SHOULD BEGIN IMPROVING BETWEEN 800 AND 830 AM CDT THIS MORNING.

340 AM CDT TUE MAR 13 2012

INCREASING WINDS AND NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL RESULT IN A HIGH TO VERY HIGH GRASSLAND FIRE INDEX THIS AFTERNOON OVER A PORTION OF THE WESTERN COUNTIES OF IOWA. THE AREA OF GREATEST CONCERN IS GENERALLY ALONG AND WEST OF A CORRIDOR FROM NEAR IOWA COUNTY HIGHWAY 4 WESTWARD. THE GREATEST DANGER WILL BE THIS AFTERNOON WHEN WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 30 MPH. EXTREME CAUTION IS ADVISED TODAY.

BURNING IS NOT RECOMMENDED IN THESE AREAS. SMALL FIRES MAY QUICKLY SPREAD INTO DRY GRASSES AND FIELDS…RESULTING IN LARGER AND UNCONTROLLED GRASS FIRES. THE DANGER IS NOT EXPECTED TO LOWER TO THE “MODERATE” FIRE RISK UNTIL LATE TONIGHT.

FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=DMX&product=RFD&issuedby=DMX