(Radio Iowa) – The experts are still studying the series of ten tornadoes that touched down in Iowa on March 5th, claiming seven lives and damaging or destroying dozens of houses. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, says the strength of the tornadoes was very unusual, as they included a pair of E-F-2s, an E-F-3 and an E-F-4.
Todey says, “Small tornadoes in March is not a surprise, too much, but something of this nature and several of them, the total is up to ten now that the Weather Service has confirmed related to this, is really more than we want to see at this point.” Forecasters are trying to determine if this is a sign of more frequent early-season severe weather. “I don’t know that we can take it as a signal for anything larger just yet,” Todey says, “but it is also an example of a typical spring kind of thing where you get some severe weather ahead of a big system and then cold air and snow behind it.”
Temperatures in parts of Iowa that day were in the 60s and 70s, then the late afternoon storm brought tornadoes and hail, followed the next day by highs only in the 20s and 30s and several inches of snow. That clash of large masses of warm and cold air, Todey says, is textbook for tornadoes.
“The jet stream itself is starting to work its way back northward from being in the southern U.S. during the winter,” Todey says, “so that boundary between the warm air and cold air is more in the middle of the country now and we’re able to get more warm air and moisture further northward more readily.” That can be a recipe for severe weather. Iowa also saw a massive outbreak of tornadoes during the derecho in mid-December, which was very rare.
Today: P/Cldy. High near 60. SE-NW wind at 10-15 mph.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 28. NW @ 5-10.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 58. NW-SW @ 10.
Wednesday: P/Cldy. High 70.
Thursday: Mo. Cldy w/scattered light showers. High 53.
Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 61. Our Low was 21. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 44 and the Low was 33. The Record High on this date was 78 in 2012. The Record Low was -12 in 1975.
Today: Sunny, with a high near 60. Calm wind becoming south southeast 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33. South wind 7 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 56. South wind 6 to 10 mph becoming north northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 58. Calm wind becoming south southwest 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Breezy.
Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 32. Our Low was 1. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 58 and the Low was 24. The Record High on this date was 79 in 2012. The Record Low was -11 in 1948 & 1975.
Today: Partly-to-Mostly sunny. High 36. SW @ 10-15.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low 28. SW @ 5-10.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High near 60. SW @ 10-20 mph.
Monday: Mostly cloudy. High 52.
Tuesday: P/Cldy. High 55.
Friday’s High in Atlantic was 25. Our 24-hour Low (ending at 7-a.m.) was 1 degree. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 51 and the Low was 24. The Record High on this date was 74 in 1938. The Record Low was -21 in 1998.
(Radio Iowa) – It appears the long-running drought in western Iowa will continue running well into 2022 as experts predict below-normal flows for the Missouri River basin this spring and summer. Doug Kluck, the Central Region climate service director for the National Weather Service, says soil moisture levels are well under average across the entire region.
“It’s all below normal, pretty much everywhere,” Kluck says. “Portions of the Dakotas have a little bit of soil moisture in them but going into spring, we’re really focusing on getting help from spring rainfall at this point. Fall and winter didn’t help us out.” Kluck predicts temperatures from March through May will be warmer than the norm.
“Better chances for above-normal temperatures, although slight, across almost the entire basin,” Kluck says. “Upper basin actually has a little bit of weak signature towards cooler-than-normal temperatures in the far northwest and then warm once you get halfway through South Dakota, Wyoming, all the way through the south and east of there.” Kluck says he’s concerned about the worsening dry conditions across the region.
“What we don’t like seeing but is typical of a La Nina year on the precipitation outlook is this below-normal forecast sneaking up from the south and southwest,” he says. According to Kluck, the mountain snowpack, which feeds into the basin, is about 80-percent of normal.
Today: Partly cloudy. High 30. NW @ 15-25.
Tonight: Mostly clear. Low around 0.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 36. SW @ 10-15 mph.
Sunday: P/Cldy. High 57.
Monday: P/Cldy to cldy. High 50.
Thursday’s High was 23. Our Low this morning was 14. We received .1′ of snow, Thursday, at KJAN. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 57 and the Low was 28. The Record High on this date was 69 in 1900. The Record Low was -22 in 1948.
Today: **Winter Weather Advisory for snow in effect until 6-p.m.** A chance of light snow, mainly before 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 28. Wind N @ 10-15. Windchill values as low as 5. Less than 1/2 inch of snow accumulation is expected.
Tonight: Fair to Partly cloudy, with a low around 10. Wind light & variable.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 28. NW @ 10-20 mph.
Saturday: P/Cldy. High around 36.
Sunday: P/Cldy. High 52.
Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 28. The 24-hour Low (as of 4-a.m. today), was 19. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 76 and the Low was 32. The Record High on this date was 76 in 2021. The Record Low was -8 in 1948.
Today: Partly cloudy to cloudy. High 33. N wind 10 to 15 mph.
Tonight: (Winter Weather Advisory begins at 6-p.m.) Mostly cloudy w/light snow overnight. Low around 11. N @ 5-10, Wind chill values as low as zero.
Thursday: Snow (ending by around mid-day) (around 1″ total). High 28. NE @ 10-15.
Friday: P/Cldy. High 28.
Saturday: P/Cldy. High around 38.
Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 46. Our Low was 15. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 73 and the Low was 48. The Record High on this date was 76 in 1986. The Record Low was -10 in 1912.
Today: Mostly sunny. High 46. SW @ 10-15.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 22. N @ 5-10.
Tomorrow: Mo. Cldy. High 35. N @ 10-15.
Thursday: Mo. Cldy w/light snow. High 28.
Friday: P/Cldy. High near 30.
Monday’s High in Atlantic was 32. Our Low this morning, 14. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 69 and the Low was 34. The Record High on this date was 76 in 1986. The Record Low was -12 in 1982.
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
RSS