Today: Partly cloudy & windy. High 14. NW @ 20-35 mph, diminishing this afternoon. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL NOON

Tonight: P/Cldy. Low -2. NW @ 10. WIND CHILL ADVISORY FROM MIDNIGHT TO NOON THURSDAY

Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 10. NW @ 10-15.

Friday: Mostly cloudy w/flurries. High 22.

Saturday: P/Cldy. High near 40.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 39. Our Low this morning was 4. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 42 and the Low was 11. The Record High on this date was 62 in 2012. The Record Low was -26 in 2010.

(Radio Iowa) – The 2021 weather year wasn’t one that will end up at the top of the list when it comes to extremes — but there were a few numbers and events to note. State Climatologist, Justin Glisan, says precipitation was two or three inches below normal overall. “Basically right in the middle of distribution — so we would say top 50 driest years on record — but again, right in the middle of the behavior. So, not extremely dry,” Glisan says. He says 2021 came after a very dry 2020. Some areas caught up by the end of the year — while others continue to see rainfall deficits. “In the driest parts of the state anywhere from eight to twelve inches, now these are smaller pockets than where we were last year. Now we do see some pockets in the state — western Iowa and southern Iowa — that are near normal to above-average precipitation,” Glisan says.

One thing 2021 didn’t have was a lot of severe weather — but there were major tornado outbreaks in July and with the serial derecho in December. “The last of which — the December 15th event — is the largest tornado outbreak that we’ve seen on a single day, with preliminarily 43 tornadoes, which broke the record set on August 31st of 2014 of 35 tornadoes,” according to Glisan. “Having a tornado outbreak of that scale is an extreme event. But having that happen in December is unheard of.” Glisan says the December derecho is an event that will be studied for some time. He says the lack of severe weather tied in with the dry conditions. “It’s a reflection of the subsoil and topsoil conditions. Low-level moisture — if it’s not available — you can’t pop up thunderstorms. If you don’t have thunderstorms you can’t have severe weather, no rainfall, drought. So, it does go hand in hand,” Glisan says.

He says the temperature situation was a little unusual as well. “Temperature wise we were almost two degrees above average. It’s hard to get above or below a degree in terms of annual temperature — so that’s another significant thing we saw,” Glisan says. December alone saw temperatures average 32 degrees — which is six-and-a-half degrees above normal. Temperatures rose into the 70s on some days in December.

Today: Partly cloudy & windy. High 41. SW @ 10-20 mph.

Tonight: P/cldy to Cldy w/flurries late. Low 7. NW @ 20-40. **Wind Advisory in effect from 6-p.m. today thru 6-a.m. Wed.**

Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 12. NW @ 20-40 diminishing late.

Thursday: P/Cldy w/flurries. High 10

Friday: Mo. cldy w/flurries. High 23.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 35. Our Low was 7. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 40 and the Low was 9. The Record High on this date was 59 in 1939. The Record Low was -29 in 2010.

(Radio Iowa) – The outbreak of dozens of tornadoes in Iowa and across the region last month was very unusual and one weather expert says it may be a sign of what lies ahead. Doug Kluck, climate services director for the Central Region of the National Weather Service, says massive and rare derecho storms like the one on December 15th may be connected to a changing climate. “The likelihood of tornadoes in December and January and other, if you will, off-season severe weather is and will be enhanced in the future,” Kluck says.

The regional National Weather Service office in Kansas City is seeing other changes to the traditional storm track. Kluck says, “The center of tornado alley moving further east, out of the Great Plains and such and then, of course, simply the observation of severe weather in other parts of the year can lead one to that conclusion, to some degree.”

Parts of Iowa saw record high temperatures in the 70s prior to the storm’s arrival on December 15th and the warm air collided with a cold front, bringing exceptionally strong straight line winds and multiple damaging tornadoes. Minnesota recorded its first-ever December tornadoes that same day.

“Those conditions are very hard to put together in December and January, certainly in Minnesota but even in Iowa and Nebraska,” Kluck says. “The further south you go, the easier it is to put the combination of those variables together to create severe weather, but certainly not this far north.”

The derecho was Iowa’s second in two years and it spun off 43 tornadoes in the state, a single-day record, along with 18 twisters in Nebraska and six in Minnesota.

Today: Mostly sunny. High 36. SW @ 10-20 mph.

Tonight: Fair to partly cloudy. Low 25. S @ 10.

Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 42. SW @ 10-20.

Wednesday: P/Cldy, windy & colder. High 14.

Thursday: P/Cldy. High 12.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 9. Our Low was -11. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 35 and the Low was 10. The Record High on this date was 52 in 1933. The Record Low was -30 in 2010.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The last month of 2021 in Atlantic 12 degrees warmer and slightly less than one-inch drier than normal. The Average High for December was 45. The Average Low was 20. We received just .16″ of precipitation during the entire month, including .2″ melted snow on the 10th. December 15th was the warmest day, with a record-breaking 72 degrees, followed by December 2nd, when we set a record High of 65.

There were no record Low temps set for the month. The coldest morning was on Dec. 31, when we bottomed-out the mercury at 4 degrees. During the month of January in Atlantic, we typically see a little over eight-tenths of an inch of precipitation (Including melted snowfall). The Average High is 29, and the average Low is 9 Degrees.

We’ll let you know how the data compared to those stats, when we compile the data next month.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 16. Wind chill values as low as -25. North northwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. **WIND CHILL ADVISORY until Noon for wind chill factors as low as -25.**
Tonight: Clear, with a low around -1. Wind chill values as low as -10. South southwest wind 5 to 8 mph.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 36. Wind chill values as low as -10. South wind 7 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 36. Breezy.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 15. Windy.

Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 4. Our this morning, -10. We received 1.6-inches of snow in Atlantic, Saturday at the KJAN studios. Liquid precip. value = .05″.  Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 23 and the Low was 7. The Record High on this date was 64 in 2002. The Record Low was -19 in 1901.

SKYSCAN FORECAST FOR SATURDAY, JANUARY 1, 2022

NEW YEAR’S DAY

TODAY: Cloudy with snow developing. Blowing snow with accumulations of 2-5 inches in the KJAN listening area. N 10-30 High 8

TONIGHT: Snow ending early becoming partly cloudy. N 15-25 Low -13

SUNDAY: Partly cloudy SW 5-10 High 18

MONDAY: Partly cloudy High 32

TUESDAY: Partly cloudy High 38

This Afternoon: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31. Blustery, with a north wind 11 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. **WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY for freezing drizzle until 6-p.m.**

Tonight: A 50 percent chance of snow, mainly after 3am. Cloudy, with a low around 2. Wind chill values as low as -15. Windy, with a north wind 20 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

New Year’s Day: Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Widespread blowing snow, mainly between 7am and 11am. High near 7. Wind chill values as low as -20. Windy, with a north wind 17 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible. **WINTER STORM WARNING from 6-a.m. to midnight**

Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow before 8pm. Cloudy during the early evening, then gradual clearing, with a low around -11. Wind chill values as low as -20. North northwest wind 5 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 14. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south southwest in the afternoon.

SKYSCAN FORECAST FOR FRIDAY DECEMBER 31, 2021

TODAY: Some fog early on, then increasing cloudiness. SE winds shifting N 10-20 High 34

TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy with light snow. N 10-20 Low 5

SATURDAY: Cloudy with SNOW…possibly 2-6” in the KJAN listening area N 15-25 High 10

SATURDAY NIGHT: Snow ending. Mostly clear skies Low -2

SUNDAY: Partly cloudy skies High 18

MONDAY: Partly cloudy skies High 32