A developing La Nina pattern in the Pacific Ocean could impact Iowa’s winter weather, as well as the rest of the Midwest and Northern Plains. Climatologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, says the consensus points to “cold and snowy” for the upcoming winter, which isn’t exactly a stretch.

“That is every winter in the Northern Plains,” Todey says. “A lot of it then becomes, how much snow do you have on the ground? When you carry snow cover for a period of time, it allows that cold to set in and stay cold longer. If you don’t carry much snow cover, then you’ll bounce back and forth between the warm and the cold.”

A La Nina pattern occurs when Pacific Ocean surface temperatures drop below long-term normals and that has an effect on climate trends in North America. Todey says the predictions include the possibility of a more active storm track for our region.

“If you have a more active storm pattern, you’re going to have highs and lows coming through on a more frequent basis, so that would allow you to bounce back and forth fairly regularly,” Todey says. “So far, that’s kind of the way we’ve been this fall, although we’ve still been warmer than average.”

Todey says the forecast into mid-November indicates above-normal to much-above-normal temperatures for most of the Northern Plains.

(Radio Iowa)

Early This Morning: Cloudy. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Today: Cloudy until late afternoon then becoming partly sunny. Breezy…warmer. High in the mid 60s. South wind 10 to 20 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low around 50. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph with gusts to around 20 mph shifting to the west after midnight.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny. High in the lower 70s. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy. A 40 percent chance of thunderstorms after midnight. Low in the mid 50s. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms. High in the mid 60s. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: Sunny. High in the mid 60s.

Today: Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 58. North wind 5 to 11 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. South wind 6 to 9 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.
Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Breezy, with a south wind 11 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. Northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming east southeast in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68.

Today: Partly Sunny. High 73. Winds becoming w/sw @ 5-10.

Tonight: P/Cldy to Cldy w/a slight chance of rain. Low 52.

Tomorrow: Cldy to P/Cldy. High near 56. NE @ 5-10.

Monday: P/Cldy. High 74.

Tuesday: P/Cldy.  High near 70.

Friday’s High in Atlantic was 81 (2-degrees shy of the record high). Our 24-hour Low (ending at 7-a.m. today) was 53.  Last year on this date, our High in Atlantic was 52 and the low was 25. The Record High in Atlantic on this date was 91 in 1937. The Record Low was 8 in 1895.

6:38-a.m. CDT: AREA COUNTIES… AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-ADAIR….
PATCHY FOG IS DEVELOPING ALONG A SLOW MOVING BOUNDARY ACROSS
CENTRAL IOWA EARLY THIS SATURDAY MORNING. OCCASIONALLY THE
VISIBILITY HAS DROPPED TO ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS. THE FOG WILL
BE PATCHY IN NATURE AND THE VISIBILITY MAY VARY CONSIDERABLY OVER SHORT DISTANCES…SO BE PREPARED FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS. THE FOG SHOULD BEGIN TO BURN OFF BETWEEN 8 AND 10 AM THIS MORNING.

IF YOU ARE OUT TRAVELING EARLY TODAY AND ENCOUNTER THICK FOG. SLOW DOWN…USE YOUR LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS AND ALLOW EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION SAFELY. REMEMBER TO USE EXTRA CAUTION NEAR INTERSECTIONS AND AT RAILROAD CROSSINGS AS APPROACHING VEHICLES AND TRAINS MAY BE HIDDEN BY THE FOG.

Early This Morning: Mostly cloudy. South wind near 5 mph.
Today: Partly sunny. High in the mid 70s. East wind near 10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Cooler. Low in the upper 40s. North wind 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny. Cooler. High in the lower 60s. Northeast wind 5 to 15 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear through midnight then becoming mostly cloudy. Low in the upper 40s. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Gusts up to 20 mph after midnight.
Monday: Partly sunny. Warmer. High in the mid 70s. South wind 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 30 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear. Low in the upper 40s.
Tuesday: Partly sunny. High in the lower 70s.

Today: P/Cldy. High 82. SW @ 15-30.

Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 58. S @ 10.

Tomorrow: P/Cldy to Cldy. High near 70. N @ 10-15.

Sunday: P/Cldy. High 64.

Monday: P/Cldy, warm & windy. High near 80.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 72. Our 24-hour Low (ending at 7-a.m. today) was 38.  Last year on this date, our High in Atlantic was 49 and the low was 32. The Record High in Atlantic on this date was 83 in 1922. The Record Low was 2 in 1925.

Early This Morning: Partly cloudy. Warmer. South wind 5 to 15 mph.
Today: Mostly sunny. Breezy…warmer. High in the lower 80s. South wind 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph shifting to the southwest 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 35 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low around 60. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny. High in the lower 70s. South wind 5 to 10 mph shifting to the west in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of light showers through midnight. Cooler. Low in the upper 40s. North wind 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny. Cooler. High in the lower 60s. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph shifting to the east in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy. Low in the lower 50s.
Monday: Partly sunny. Breezy…warmer. High in the mid 70s.

MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-PAGE COUNTIES IN IA…DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CDT THIS MORNING…

713 AM CDT THU OCT 27 2016

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA/VALLEY HAS ISSUED A DENSE
FOG ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CDT THIS MORNING.

* VISIBILITY…WIDESPREAD AREAS OF VISIBILITIES OF A QUARTER MILE
OR LESS WILL BE COMMON THIS MORNING.

* IMPACTS…SHARPLY REDUCED VISIBILITY WILL CREATE HAZARDOUS
TRAVEL CONDITIONS. BE PREPARED FOR RAPID REDUCTIONS IN
VISIBILITY OVER SHORT DISTANCES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A DENSE FOG ADVISORY MEANS VISIBILITIES WILL FREQUENTLY BE
REDUCED TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE. IF DRIVING, SLOW DOWN, USE
YOUR HEADLIGHTS, AND LEAVE PLENTY OF DISTANCE AHEAD OF YOU.

Today: Areas of fog thru about 10-a.m; P/Cldy. High 67. S @ 5-10.

Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 50. S @ 10.

Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High near 82. SW @ 15-30.

Saturday: P/Cldy to Cldy. High 66.

Sunday: P/Cldy. High 65.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 64. Our 24-hour Low (ending at 7-a.m. today) was 37.  Last year on this date, our High in Atlantic was 48 and the low was 44. The Record High in Atlantic on this date was 87 in 1922. The Record Low was 9 in 1997.