355 AM CST MON NOV 12 2012

TODAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. BREEZY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S. WEST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW 15 TO 20. WEST WIND NEAR 5 MPH SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHWEST AFTER MIDNIGHT.

TUESDAY…SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 40S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

TUESDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 20S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

WEDNESDAY…SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 50S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 30S. HIGH IN THE LOWER 50S.

THURSDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 30S.

FRIDAY…SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 50S.

SKYSCAN FORECAST           SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2012     CHRIS PARKS

Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly sunny and windy, S@ 15 to 25 mph w/ gusts up to 35 mph. H 76.

Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then rain after midnight. Windy S @ 15 to 25 mph becoming WNW after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. L 35.

Sunday (Veteran’s Day): Rain likely, mixing with snow after 9am, then gradually ending. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a temperature falling to around 30 by 4pm. Windy, NW @ 15 to 20 mph w/ gusts to 30 mph. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Monday: Mostly sunny. W @ 10 to 20 mph w/ gusts to 30 mph. H 33.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny. H 46.

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Forecasters say it’ll be one of “those” weekends in Iowa, where you may be comfy in a t-shirt and shorts one hour, and then the next, you’ll need gloves, a scarf and your winter parka. Meteorologist Kevin Skow, at the National Weather Service, says we’d better enjoy the mild weather while it lasts.  “Saturday looks to be the best of the days,” Skow says. “Temperatures rising into the upper 60s north and into the mid-70s south, but we have a cold front that’ll sweep through on Saturday night into Sunday and that’s going to really drop our temperatures off.” He says we’ll see the weather make an abrupt about-face in the next few days.

“We’re looking to see temperatures drop off into the mid-30s north to lower 60s south on Sunday,” he says. “By Monday, temperatures across the state will be in the upper 20s north to mid-30s south for highs.” Warmer weather will be very slow to rebound, Skow says, as highs may inch back into the 40s later in the week.

(Radio Iowa)

The Freese-Notis (Podcast) forecast for the KJAN listening area, and weather data for Atlantic…

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TODAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 60S. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. WARMER. LOW IN THE MID 50S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.

SATURDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. BREEZY. HIGH IN THE MID 70S. SOUTH WIND 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 35 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH MIDNIGHT…THEN SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AFTER MIDNIGHT. BREEZY…COLDER. LOW IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTH WIND 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 35 MPH SHIFTING TO THE WEST 15 TO 20 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 80 PERCENT.

VETERANS DAY…CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE MORNING…THEN PARTLY SUNNY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND LIGHT SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON. BREEZY. MUCH COLDER. HIGH IN THE LOWER 40S. TEMPERATURE STEADY OR SLOWLY FALLING IN THE AFTERNOON. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 50 PERCENT.

SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. COLDER. LOW IN THE LOWER 20S.

MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGH IN THE MID 30S. LOW IN THE LOWER 20S.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency, Thursday (Nov. 8th), reduced the grassland and field Fire Danger Index to “Low.” The threat of rapidly spreading fires due to outdoor burning of timber and other materials will remain low, due in-part to precipitation that’s expected across the area over the weekend.

The drought conditions this year have hurt crops and damaged some lawns, but the situation allowed Iowa road construction crews to finish projects weeks in advance. Mark Bortle, with the Iowa Department of Transportation, says the reconstruction of a six-and-a-half mile stretch of Interstate 380 in Waterloo — for example — was completed one month ahead of schedule. “A lot of our other projects, because they haven’t had rain delays, have been completed,” Bortle said. “In a normal year, we’re trying to get them buttoned up at this time. This season, because of the dry weather, we’ve been able to get ’em buttoned up in October as opposed to early November.”

Road crews not only benefited from the drought this summer, they were able to begin work in early March rather than late April because of the milder than usual Winter. “We basically gained a month on the Spring end and a month on the Fall end with the good weather,” Bortle said. Many contractors have requested they be allowed to start on major projects that aren’t even slated to begin until next year. The DOT has denied most of those requests to avoid impacting traffic over the winter.

“We don’t want to get into a situation where we’re partly ready to go and not being able to get (the road) in a safe condition,” Bortle said. “So, most of the contracts that’ve been let this Fall with start dates of next Spring we haven’t allowed them to start early because of the uncertainty of the weather conditions.” Through the end of September, the Iowa DOT had spent $435 million dollars on road construction projects this year. Bortle said that compares to just $340 million over the same period last year and it’s a direct result of the dry weather.

(Radio Iowa)

While the weather outside isn’t exactly frightful yet, some Iowans may need a reminder that wind chills will plummet and snow will fly one day very soon. Today (Thursday) is Winter Weather Awareness Day, according to Jeff Johnson, the warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Johnson says, “Winter Weather Day is a day to think about the hazards we face here in the state from winter weather, particularly, we’ll look at the winter storms, blizzards, extreme cold episodes and ice storms and for each of those, how to deal with each threat.”

The National Weather Service is offering that information on its website, weather-dot-gov. “We want people to know how to get a watch, warning or advisory,” Johnson says. “Safety things everyone should do, like making sure your winter weather emergency kit is ready in your car. Exactly what to put in that is on our website.” Some items should include: blankets, a flashlight, extra batteries, a radio, a shovel and non-perishable food. After this year’s prolonged drought, everyone’s wondering about the winter ahead. Johnson says predictions are still inconclusive.

“Last year, we had a fairly tranquil winter that was punctuated by an extremely warm March, holy cow, with temperatures in the 80s, it was a record month,” Johnson says. “Prior to that, we had a few snow episodes and some ice but nothing significant.” As for naming this season’s winter storms like what’s done with hurricanes, Johnson says that’s a gimmick being offered by the Weather Channel, not the National Weather Service.

(Radio Iowa)

Here’s the Freese-Notis (podcast) forecast for the KJAN listening area, and weather data for Atlantic…

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(Nat’l. Weather Service/Des Moines)

Today: Sunny…warmer. High in the lower 60s. South wind 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low in the lower 40s. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: Partly sunny. High in the mid 60s. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy. Warmer. Low in the mid 50s. South wind 10 to 15 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. A chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Breezy. High in the mid 70s. South wind 15 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

Saturday Night: Showers likely and isolated thunderstorms through midnight…then rain likely after midnight. Colder. Low in the lower 40s. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.

Veterans Day: Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain. Breezy. Much colder. High in the lower 40s.