FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN IOWA: EMMET-KOSSUTH-WINNEBAGO-WORTH-PALO ALTO-HANCOCK-CERRO GORDO- POCAHONTAS-HUMBOLDT-WRIGHT-FRANKLIN-BUTLER-BREMER-SAC-CALHOUN- WEBSTER-HAMILTON-HARDIN-GRUNDY-BLACK HAWK-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-GREENE- BOONE-STORY-MARSHALL-TAMA-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-POLK-JASPER- POWESHIEK-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-WARREN-MARION-MAHASKA-ADAMS-UNION– CLARKE-LUCAS-MONROE-WAPELLO-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD-DECATUR-WAYNE-APPANOOSE- DAVIS-

THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT:

SCATTERED NON SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT. THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE DIME SIZED OR SMALLER HAIL.

DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY:

FROST IS POSSIBLE ACROSS PARTS OF CENTRAL IOWA SUNDAY NIGHT. THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY AND AGAIN LATE IN THE WEEK OR ON SATURDAY. THE STORMS MIDWEEK HAVE A LOW PROBABILITY OF BEING SEVERE. THE CHANCES OF SEVERE WEATHER INCREASE BY SATURDAY…BUT SIGNIFICANCE OF THE THREAT IS VERY UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME.

Here’s the (Podcast) forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area, and the weather stats for Atlantic from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson…

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346 AM CDT SAT APR 21 2012 NWS/Des Moines

TODAY…PARTLY SUNNY. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS IN THE MORNING…THEN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE UPPER 60S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 20 PERCENT.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 40S. NORTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

SUNDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW IN THE UPPER 30S. NORTH WIND NEAR 10 MPH.

MONDAY…SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 60S. NORTHWEST WIND AROUND 5 MPH.

MONDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW IN THE UPPER 40S.

TUESDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. WARMER. HIGH IN THE UPPER 70S.

More than one hundred Iowa homes were damaged and at least 14 were destroyed in last weekend’s tornadoes and severe storms. Julie Rochman, president of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, offers some advice for Iowans who have to rebuild. Rochman says science shows we can make homes more resistant to strong winds, hail and flying debris. “In the middle of the country, the building codes really do not incorporate provisions that will make your home really safe from really high winds,” Rochman says. “The main thing you want to make sure of, if you’re building a new home or looking at how to make your current home safer, you need your roof to be held on by more than gravity. Strapping the roof to the walls, the walls to each other and the walls to the foundation to create a continuous path of safety.” While we can’t prevent tornadoes, she says we can reduce the level of damage and loss of life from these horrific storms.

“First, it’s important to understand that even the best engineering can be overwhelmed by an EF4 or EF5 tornado,” she says. “When it comes to EF-zeros, ones and twos, we really can eliminate that kind of damage that comes from debris in a storm, breaking windows, the gusty winds tearing off a piece or all of the roof, those types of things can be prevented.” When rebuilding, she says it’s a good idea to look at the cost benefits of making the structure more wind-resistant, adding, it doesn’t cost that much more. Rochman, a Nebraska native, says storm shelters serve an important purpose.

“It used to be that everybody had a safe place, a basement or a root cellar, someplace they could go that was windowless and away from the wind,” she says. “Now, unfortunately, fewer people have those types of places. We do recommend if someone wants to be particularly safe, there are storm shelters that are certified by the National Storm Shelter Association and there are FEMA grants that help people offset the cost of those.” A federal report finds the number of tornadoes rose dramatically over the past year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there were 379 preliminary tornado reports in the first quarter of 2012 compared to 154 twisters during the same period last year. The 20-year average for the first quarter is 144.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)

Today…Partly sunny until late afternoon then clearing. Breezy. High in the upper 50s. North wind 15 to 20 mph.

Tonight…Mostly clear until early morning then becoming mostly cloudy. Low in the upper 30s. Northeast wind near 10 mph shifting to the southeast after midnight.

Saturday…Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of light showers. Breezy. High in the mid 60s. Southwest wind 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph.

Saturday Night…Partly cloudy. Low in the mid 40s. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph through midnight.

Sunday…Mostly sunny. High in the mid 60s. North wind 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Sunday Night And Monday…Partly cloudy. Low in the lower 40s. High in the upper 60s.

Monday Night And Tuesday…Partly cloudy. Low in the upper 40s. High in the mid 70s.

Here’s the (podcast) forecast for Atlantic and the KJAN listening area….

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355 AM CDT THU APR 19 2012

TODAY…PERIODS OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH MID MORNING…THEN THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY IN THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON. COOLER. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S. TEMPERATURE STEADY OR SLOWLY FALLING IN THE AFTERNOON. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH SHIFTING TO THE WEST 10 TO 15 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 80 PERCENT.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY…COLDER. LOW AROUND 40. NORTH WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.

FRIDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 50S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW IN THE LOWER 30S. NORTH WIND NEAR 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHEAST AFTER MIDNIGHT.

SATURDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 40S.

SUNDAY…SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 60S.

Here’s the (podcast) Freese-Notis forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area, from Freese-Notis Meteorologist Dan Hicks, and the weather stats for Atlantic from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson…

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401 AM CDT WED APR 18 2012

EARLY THIS MORNING…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. WARMER. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.

TODAY…PARTLY SUNNY. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH MID MORNING. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE MID 70S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH. CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS 20 PERCENT.

TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH MIDNIGHT…THEN A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOW IN THE MID 50S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH. CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS 50 PERCENT.

THURSDAY…SHOWERS LIKELY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 60S. SOUTH WIND AROUND 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE WEST IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF SHOWERS 70 PERCENT.

THURSDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS THROUGH MIDNIGHT…THEN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT. COLDER. LOW IN THE MID 40S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 50 PERCENT.

FRIDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. COOLER. HIGH IN THE MID 50S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 30S. HIGH IN THE UPPER 50S.

Here’s the (podcast) Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic, & the KJAN listening area, from Freese-Notis Meteorologist Harvey Freese….

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