(Radio Iowa) – The latest U-S Drought Monitor map of Iowa shows no red areas indicating extreme drought.
DNR Hydrologist Tim Hall says we’ve been seeing red for a long time. “The first time in almost two years that we’ve not had extreme drought somewhere in the state of Iowa,” Hall says. It is a big turnaround, but not all the color has washed out of the drought map. “We still have half the state are so impacted by drought conditions, but that area is shrinking all the time as we get these good rains,” he says.
Hall has continually said we need weekly rains every month to turn things around, and that’s the pattern we’re now in. “We’ve now had five out of the last seven months have had above normal precipitation and that’s exactly the recipe we wanted,” he says, “where you get month over month just above normal precipitation, and that’s what’s really helping us to get out of the drought,” Hall says.
He says depth of the drought is evident in the lack of any major flood issues. “Go back to this winter when we had all that snow in January that melted very quickly and we had no flooding. And we’ve now had a couple of above normal precipitation months, and yes, we got some flooding, but nothing even approaching a widespread or catastrophic flooding,” Hall Says. “So that really points to a couple of things, how dry the soil was, and the fact that the rain we have received has been fairly well spaced out.”
Half of the state’s annual rainfall usually comes in May through August, and Hall says if we are above normal in any of those months, we could go a long way toward pushing all the drought colors off the map.
Today: Mostly cloudy w/a 50 chance of showers & possible thunderstorms this afternoon. High near 65. N/NE winds 10-20 mph.
Tonight: Showers & thunderstorms ending late; gradually becoming mostly clear. Low 41.
Friday: Mo. sunny w/a very slight chance of showers late in the day. High near 72. W/NW winds 5-15 mph w/gusts to near 20.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 75.
Sunday: Partly sunny w/a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. High near 78.
Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 79. Our Low this morning, 45. We received .01″ (One-one hundredth) of an inch of rain yesterday. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 74 and the Low was 56. The Record High was 96 in 1985. The Record Low was 24 in 1980. Sunrise: 6:08. Sunset: 8:26.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – Sustained high wind Tuesday evening, in Atlantic, caused damage to trees, property and infrastructure. According to the National Weather Service’ wind gauge at the airport, winds at around at around 6:15-p.m. went from 15-to as high as 59-miles per hour by 6:35-p.m. The winds caused multiple tree limbs to come crashing down, in one case, falling on a parked van. The wind storm also resulted in downed power and cable-TV lines. Crews from the Atlantic Street Department were working diligently Tuesday, to remove the trees from the roads.
Other storm damage was reported in Oakland, where shingles were torn-off of a roof. The Weather Service had issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for parts of northeastern Cass, northwestern Adair, parts of Audubon and Guthrie County, after the storm passed through Atlantic. In Greenfield, there were reports of tree branches snapped and on the ground.
There were no reports of injuries. In the storm’s aftermath, many in the area noticed a full rainbow. Miranda Olson sent us this photo:
(Omaha/Valley, NE.) – Officials with the National Weather Service in Omaha, Tuesday, reported that on Monday, May 6, three Tornadoes swept through a portion of southwest Iowa. Tornado number 1 (rated an EF-2) touched down near Glenwood at approximately 8:48 p.m. It was 250 yards wide and carried wind speeds as high as 110 miles per hour. It traveled northeast for 5.66 miles before lifting at 8:55 pm.
The second tornado (an EF-1) touched down at around 9:07-p.m.near Carson and Macedonia. It was approximately 200 yards wide and carried with it 93 mile per hour winds. It was on the ground for 1.53 miles.
The third and final tornado (Also an EF-1) touched down at around 9:13-p.m. Tuesday, east of Minden and Shelby. The Weather Service says it was 450 yards wide and had winds of up to 110 miles per hour. The twister traveled northeast for 4.05 miles, and lifted at 9:19 pm.
Today: Partly sunny w/a 30% chance of showers & thunderstorms. High near 73. S/SW winds 5-to 10 mph becoming E/SE.
Tonight: Partly cloudy w/A 40% of showers & thunderstorms. Low around 48.
Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy w/a 50% chance of showers & thunderstorms. High near 62. North wind 10 tos 20 mph.
Tom. Night: P/Cldy w/a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low around 43. N
Friday: Mostly sunny & breezy, with a high near 71.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 73.
Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 73. Our Low this morning, 54. We received .01″ (One-one hundredth) of an inch of rain late yesterday into early today. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 82 and the Low was 57. The Record High was 95 in 1895. The Record Low was 25 in 1980. Sunrise: 6:09. Sunset: 8:25.
Damage near Shelby, IA 5/6/24. Photo courtesy Zach Ploen.
Today: Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 71. Breezy, with a southwest wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Tonight: A slight chance of showers between 3am and 4am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. South wind 8 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Wednesday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before noon, then a chance of showers between noon and 1pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. South southeast wind 6 to 11 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wednesday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 4am, then a slight chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 46. Northwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 64. Breezy. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. Breezy.
Monday’s High temperature in Atlantic was 74. The Low was 53. We received 1.34-inches of rain last nigh at KJAN. Last year on this date, the High was 85 and the Low was 56. The Record High set on May 7th in Atlantic was 95 in 1966. The Record Low was 24 in 1931. Sunrise: 6:10. Sunset: 8:24.
Today: Mostly cloudy & windy, with a high near 74. S/SE winds 10-20 mph w/gusts to near 30 this afternoon.
Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 52. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible. There is a slight risk of severe weather, including damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes.
Tuesday: Sunny & breezy, with a high near 72. W/SW @ 15-30 mph.
Tue. Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low around 49.
Wednesday: Partly sunny w/a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. High near 69. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wed. Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms with a low around 45.
Thursday: Mostly sunny & breezy w/a chance of afternoon showers & thunderstorms. High near 65.
Sunday’s High temperature in Atlantic was 65. The Low was 38. Last year on this date, the High was 76 and the Low was 50. The Record High set on May 6th in Atlantic was 97 in 1934. The Record Low was 23 in 1891. Sunrise: 6:121. Sunset: 8:23.
Today: Sunny, with a high near 67. E/SE winds 5-10.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tomorrow: Partly sunny & windy, w/a 40% chance of afternoon showers or thunderstorms. High near 73. S/SE winds 15-30 mph.
Monday Night: A 90% chance of showers & thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 52. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.
Tuesday: Thunderstorms ending in the morning; Becoming mostly sunny & breezy. High near 73. W/SW winds 10-25 mph.
Wednesday: A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, otherwise mostly sunny, with a high near 71.
Saturday’s High temperature in Atlantic was 62. The Low was 37. Last year on this date, the High was 62 and the Low was 56. The Record High set on May 5th in Atlantic was 96 in 1909. The Record Low was 28 in 2021. Sunrise: 6:12. Sunset: 8:22.
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