(Radio Iowa) – The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado with wind speeds around 75 miles an hour touched down near Clinton Friday night. According to the National Weather Service office in the Quad Cities, the tornado in Clinton County was on the ground for nearly one and a half miles. Another, slightly stronger tornado was reported near the small Jackson County town of Andrew Friday, causing damage to some farmsteads and knocking down some power lines.

The National Weather Service office in Des Moines has been gathering information about a tornado near the Franklin-Hardin County line on Friday. Meteorologists have determined that tornado reached speeds of 90 miles an hour, but they’re still assessing how long it stayed on the ground.

(Radio Iowa) – Weather records show July is the warmest month of the year in Iowa, but state climatologist Justin Glisan says the month that just ended went against the norm. “The average temperature was about 72 degrees and that’s about one and a half degrees below average. So we’re looking at 151 years of records for the state, most likely in the top 30 coolest July’s on record,” Glisan says. Glisan says it wasn’t glove and jacket weather in July.

“Not exceedingly cold but definitely given that it’s the warmest month in expectation — noteworthy that it’s below average — especially the north western half of the state,” he says. “We did have a few days at the end of the month in which we saw 90 degree temperatures we had a one reading in 101 degrees in Keokuk, so we did get some ones at the end, but overall a cooler month.” July did continue the overall dry conditions we saw in May and June, but some areas did get a good dose of rain.

“If you look at the eastern and western borders of the state, we did see some stations with above average rainfall, but overall across the rest of the state departures in the driest part of the state, north central Iowa anywhere from two to three inches below average,” Glisan says. “So you look at the overall statewide average, about three-point-one (3.1) inches preliminarily, and that’s about an inch, inch point, one below average, so 78 percent of normal.” The storms that rolled through with rain made an impact.

“We have seen some widespread precipitation events in July that actually helped improve drought conditions especially in western Iowa and then portions of …northeastern Iowa,” he says. Glisan says the early outlook for August shows some potential for above average rainfall.

(Atlantic, Iowa/KJAN) – The month of July in Atlantic, was slightly cooler than normal. The average High of 84 was just two-degrees below the norm. The Low was also two-degrees below the norm, coming in at 61 degrees.

Rainfall in July typically measures around 4.62, but we came up short by 2.9-inches, at 1.72 for the month.

Here’s what we might expect weather-wise, during the month of Augst, in Atlantic: An average High of 83 and an average Low of 61. Precipitation typically amounts to 3.88-inches.

KJAN is the OFFICIAL National Weather Service reporting site for Atlantic data.

Today: Mostly cloudy. Patchy fog before 8am. High near 84. Southeast wind 5 to 19 mph.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy w/a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low around 68.

Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy w/a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms. High near 81. E/SE @ 5-10

Thursday: Partly sunny w/a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. High near 85. E/NE @ 10.

Friday: Mo. Cldy w/a chance of showers/thunderstorms. High near 84.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 86. Our Low was 65. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 94, and the Low was 63. The All-time Record High on August 1st in Atlantic was 102 in 1897. The Record Low was 42 in 1898. Sunrise is at 6:14. Sunset is 8:37.

Today: Mostly cloudy w/a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. High near 82. E/SE  wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy w/a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low around 66.

Tuesday: Partly sunny w/a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms. High near 86. SE @ 10 mph.

Wednesday: Mo. Cldy w/a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms. High near 82.

Thursday: Mo. Sunny w/just a slight chance of showers. High near 88.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 91. The Low was 61. We received .05″ rain in Atlantic between 7-a.m. Sunday and 7-a.m. today. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 86 and the Low was 63. The Record High was 104 in 1955. The Record Low was 39 in 1971. Sunrise is 6:14. Sunset is 8:39.

Today: Mostly sunny, w/a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms this morning. High near 84. SE wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy w/a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Low 64.

Monday: Mostly cloudy w/a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly during the afternoon. High 82. E/SE @ 5-10.

Monday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after midnight. Low 65.

Tuesday: A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms through early afternoon. High 84. E/SE @ 10-20 mph.

Tuesday Night: Cloudy & breezy w/a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low 67.

Wednesday: Partly sunny & windy, w/a chance of showers and thunderstorms. High 88.

Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 88. Our Low this morning, 59. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 85 and the Low was 53. The Record High was 102 in 1931 & 1947. The Record Low was 39 in 1971. Sunrise is 6:13. Sunset is 8:40.

(Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – Severe storms rolled through eastern and parts of northeastern Iowa Friday night, bringing large hail and damaging winds. The National Weather Service in Des Moines said there were also reports of funnel clouds in Franklin and Bremer Counties, with one weak twister touching down four-miles north of Iowa Falls in Franklin County, at around 5:45-p.m., Friday. Another tornado was seen 4 miles northeast of Popejoy, in Franklin County. Spotters reported debris was lofted into the air during the event.

KCRG reports the storms initially leaving thousands without power. City officials in Marion said downed power lines and large tree debris were reported. They were advising people to stay away from downed power lines, and assume they’re charged and dangerous.

Hail ranged in size from Marbles and Quarters to ping-pong balls, with some locations near Eddyville and Iowa Falls being hit by Half-dollar (1.25″ diameter) to golf-ball size (1.75″ diameter) hail. The largest hail was baseball size (2.75″ diameter), reported north of Denver, in Bremer County. Winds during the storms gusted to as high as 93 miles per hour near Albion, in Marshall County.

Crews were expected to conduct a damage assessment today (Saturday). The National Weather Service in Omaha says many locations in the eastern part of the State were hit by hail the size of Quarters to as large as Tennis balls and tea cups. The largest stones (2.5-3″ diameter) fell near Elk Horn, NE., at around 6-p.m., and Fremont, NE, at around 5:20-p.m., Friday.

Today: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Northeast wind 8 to 11 mph.
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. Northeast wind 7 to 9 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. East northeast wind around 7 mph.
Sunday Night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 61. East northeast wind 7 to 9 mph.
Monday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm, then a slight chance of showers between 1pm and 4pm, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. East southeast wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Monday Night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm, then a slight chance of showers between 10pm and 1am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7am. Partly sunny, with a high near 85.

Friday’s High in Atlantic was 96. Our Low this morning, was 69. We received a few sprinkles Friday afternoon. Last year on this date, the High temperature in Atlantic was 83 & the Low was 51. The Record High was 102 in 1917. The Record Low was 46 in 1952. Sunrise today is 6:12. Sunset is 8:41.

Today: **Excessive Heat Warning in effect until 9-p.m.**Sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Heat index values as high as 110. South southwest wind 8 to 10 mph.

Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 7pm and 1am. Increasing clouds, with a low around 69. West wind 8 to 13 mph becoming north northeast after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. North northeast wind 8 to 10 mph.

Sat. Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. Northeast wind around 9 mph.

Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85.

Sun. Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 62.

Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 81.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 91. Our Low, 74. We received a few sprinkles Thursday afternoon. Last year on this date, the High temperature in Atlantic was 81 & the Low was 50. The Record High was 105 in 1935. The Record Low was 43 in 2013. Sunrise today is 6:11. Sunset is 8:42.

Today: **HEAT ADVISORY until 9-p.m. Friday ** Isolated showers and thunderstorms between 10am and 4pm. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Heat index values as high as 103. South southeast wind 6 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 72. South southeast wind 8 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Heat index values as high as 107. South southwest wind 7 to 9 mph.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 69. North northeast wind 6 to 10 mph. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 95. Our Low was 67. Last year on this date, the High temperature in Atlantic was 88 & the Low was 62. The Record High was 105 in 1930. The Record Low was 41 in 2013.