(Radio Iowa) – While temperatures are forecast to climb back into the 60s for much of Iowa in the coming weekend, the National Weather Service is reminding us of — the inevitable. Meteorologist Brooke Hagenhoff says today (Thursday) is Winter Weather Awareness Day and Iowans need to take note and start stocking up on supplies. “Whenever we have a winter storm that comes, we don’t want to be scrambling last-minute to make sure we have the things we need,” Hagenhoff says. “This is an opportunity for us to make sure Iowans are prepared for the winter weather that’s coming. Living in Iowa, we know that sooner or later we’re going to get that big winter storm that’s going to cause problems.”

Hagenhoff says much of the weather across the continent is being influenced by the current La Nina pattern, which may have a minor impact on Iowa. “There could be a chance for some slightly warmer-than-average temperatures and maybe slightly wetter-than-average precipitation amounts across Iowa,” Hagenhoff says. “It’s a pretty weak signal in Iowa. The best thing Iowans can do is just be prepared for whatever winter throws at us.”

She warns that does NOT mean we will entirely avoid extreme cold snaps or significant snowfalls. Hagenhoff directs Iowans to the National Weather Service website for the Des Moines area office to learn more about winter weather safety. “We have materials up there for people to start taking those actions like creating winter preparedness kits to keep in the car, things to stay warm, maybe some food in case you’re stranded,” she says, “and ways to prepare your home as well so you’re ready whenever those conditions arise.”

(That website is weather.gov/dmx.)

Today: Partly cloudy with a high near 53. South wind 10-20 mph.
Tonight: Fair to p/cldy. Low around 39. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny & breezy, with a high near 60. SW @ 15-25.
Saturday: P/Cldy. High 66.
Sunday: P/Cldy. High near 68.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 46. Our Low was 19. Last year on this date, the High was 74 and the Low was 32. The Record High was 75 in 1909 & 1978. The Record Low was -1 in 1991.

Skyscan Forecast  Wednesday, November 3, 2021  Dan Hicks

Today: Partly cloudy. SE @ 5-10. High 49.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. SE @ 5. Low 30.

Thursday: Partly cloudy. Warmer. S @ 10-20. High 53.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear. S @ 5-10. Low 35.

Friday: Partly cloudy. High 60.

Saturday: Partly cloudy. High 66.

Yesterday’s high was 50 and the 24-hour low was 19. This day last year we had a high of 78 and a low of 27. The all-time record high was 78 set back in 2020 and the record low was 6 set in 1966. Sunrise was at 7:54 a.m. and sunset tonight is 6:13 p.m.

Skyscan Forecast  Tuesday, November 11, 2021  Dan Hicks

Today: Mostly sunny. Variable winds 5-10. High 47.

Tonight: Fair to partly cloudy. Light and variable winds. Low 22.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy. SE 5-10. High 47.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy. Light SW winds. Low 32.

Thursday: Partly cloudy. High 53.

Friday: Partly cloudy. High 58.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The month of October in Atlantic was warmer than average. Data compiled at the KJAN Studios shows the Average High was 67, or about six-degrees above normal. The Average Low of 42 was three-degrees warmer than usual. Rainfall came in at 4.8-inches, which is slightly more than two-inches above normal.

During the month of November, the average high is 46 and the average low is 27. Rain and/or melted snowfall typically amounts to just 1.85-inches. We’ll let you know how the data compared to the norm,  when we compile the data next month.

Skyscan Forecast  Monday, November 1, 2021  Dan Hicks

Today: Mostly cloudy. NW @ 10. High 45.

Tonight: Clearing skies. Light and variable winds. Low 22.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Winds variable 5-10. High 47.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear. Calm. Low 25.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High 47.

Thursday: Partly cloudy. High 53.

Yesterday’s high was 52 and the low was 26. This day last year the high was 48 and the low was 19. All-time record high for today’s date was 78 in 1933. The all-time record low was 10 in 1895. Sunrise is 7:52 a.m. and sunset is 6:15 p.m.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 50. Breezy, with a north northwest wind 10 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
Tonight: Widespread frost, mainly before 2am. Otherwise, increasing clouds, with a low around 33. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 9 mph in the morning.
Monday Night: Widespread frost, mainly after 10pm. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 24. Light northwest wind.
Tuesday: Widespread frost, mainly before 11am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 44. Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 44.

Skyscan Forecast  Saturday, October 30, 2021 Dan Hicks

Today: Areas of fog early, then mostly sunny. SW @ 10-15. High 62.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. SW switching to the NW 10-15. Low 38.

Sunday: Partly cloudy. NW @ 15-25. High 50.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy. NW @ 5. Low 31.

Monday: Partly cloudy to cloudy. High 45.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy to cloudy. High 45.

(Radio Iowa) – This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of what came to be known as the 1991 Halloween Ice Storm in Iowa. National Weather Service Meteorologist Andrew Ansorge says the storm approached the state from the southwest and started as snow.

Very cold air poured into the state after the storm.

The storm knocked out power to about 80-thousand homes in Iowa and a state of emergency was issued for 52 of the state’s 99 counties.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s been an exceptionally rainy week in Iowa, with some communities reporting record precipitation, breaking rainfall records that have stood for more than a century. State climatologist Justin Glisan says the new U-S Drought Monitor map for Iowa shows improving conditions, with fewer counties indicated as being abnormally dry or in drought.

The entire southern tier of counties is in the clear, along with wide areas of western and southeast Iowa. The worst of the dry conditions, D-2 or severe drought, remain in central and north-central Iowa, with a small patch in the northwest.

This past Sunday’s rainfall set records in several Iowa cities, including Ottumwa, Waterloo, and Des Moines — where nearly three inches fell, breaking a record set in 1908. The new drought map was just released but it’s based on data that’s a few days old, so it’s not taking into account all the rain from Wednesday and Thursday, which was considerable.

October is wrapping up to be the wettest month of 2021, so far, and we’re heading into the driest months of the year. May is typically Iowa’s wettest month of the year while February is the driest.