Today: A 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms this morning, otherwise Partly sunny & breezy with a steady temperature around 66. West-northwest wind 10-25mph.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy early, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 46. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Monday: Sunny & breezy. High near 68. W/NW wind 10-25mph.

Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 45. West wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 72.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 72.

Rainfall in Atlantic (from 3-p.m. Saturday thru 6-a.m. Sunday = 1.42″ at KJAN)

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – The Latest on flooding along rain-swollen rivers in Iowa (all times local CDT): 5:30 p.m….About 100 homes in low-lying areas of the small Linn County town of Palo along the Cedar River have been evacuated. City Clerk Trisca Dix tells The Associated Press that the mandatory evacuation in the town of about 1,000 took place Saturday afternoon before the river was expected to crest Sunday night at 24.5 feet. Mayor Tom Yock told the Des Moines Register that volunteers and work crews scrambled Saturday to protect as much of the town from flooding as possible.

Yock said the town, which was devastated by record flooding in 2008, is trying to be more proactive this time around. He says many people moved their belongings to the upper levels of their homes and built sandbag barriers before evacuating.

4:10 p.m.: Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and several other state leaders on Saturday toured flood damage in Clarkesville and Shell Rock and assessed flood preparedness plans underway in Cedar Rapids.  Branstad was joined by Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, Iowa National Guard Adjutant General Tim Orr and Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Mark Schouten. Branstad and Reynolds also expect to assess flood damage next week.

On Friday, Branstad signed a disaster proclamation for 13 northeast Iowa counties affected by flooding. It activates the Iowa National Guard to assist in preparedness and in response when there’s damage.

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Today: Areas of morning fog, otherwise partly cloudy, warm & humid. High near 90. S @ 10-20.

Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 72. S @ 10.

Tomorrow: P/Cldy, warm & humid w/scattered afternoon showers & thunderstorms. High 80. S @ 10-20.

Sunday: Showers & thunderstorms early, otherwise Partly Sunny, cooler & breezy. High around 68. NW @ 15-25.

Monday: P/Cldy. High 68.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 91. Our 24-hour Low (ending today at 7-a.m.) was 70.  Last year on this date, our High in Atlantic was 70 and the low was 64. The Record High in Atlantic on this date was 99 in 1892. The Record Low was 23 in 1983.

Officials in Ames have been busy through the night after nearly five inches of rain inundated streets and homes. Bob Kindred is the assistant city manager of Ames. He says they had 3-to 5-inches of rain which didn’t cause river flooding, but streets were flooded. A number of homes had water in their basements and cars were stalled out on the streets.

Kindred said the situation on the Iowa State University campus was not as bad, because of the lay of the land. A flash flood warning expired at 3:30 this morning but Kindred said there are still reports of flooded streets in Ames. He said water was still 2-to 3-feet deep on some City streets as of 4-a.m., and a number of cars were damaged, abandoned in-place.

Ames police, fire and city staff plus Story County Emergency Management spent much of the night assisting residents impacted by the high water.

(Radio Iowa)

Early This Morning: Partly cloudy. South wind around 5 mph.

Today: Mostly sunny. High in the upper 80s. South wind 5 to 15 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Low in the mid 60s. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny through mid morning…then a slight chance of thunderstorms before noon. Mostly cloudy with thunderstorms likely in the afternoon. High in the mid 80s. South wind 5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph in the afternoon. Chance of thunderstorms 60 percent.

Saturday Night: Thunderstorms. Low around 60. South wind 5 to 10 mph shifting to the southwest after midnight. Chance of thunderstorms 80 percent.

Sunday: Partly sunny. A slight chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms in the morning. Breezy…cooler. High around 70. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.

Monday: Mostly sunny. High in the upper 60s.

Twice each year, with the arrival of spring and fall, Iowa motorists need to be particularly careful when driving at sunrise and sunset. Gail Weinholzer with Triple-A-Iowa, notes today (Thursday) is the day of the autumnal equinox and the sun could be blinding during the morning and afternoon commutes for the next few weeks. “The days are getting shorter, the darkness is getting longer,” Weinholzer says. “It can definitely affect people as they drive, especially to and from work.”

There are no statistics kept in Iowa as to how many crashes occur related to drivers affected by the sun’s blazing light, right in our line of sight. Fall officially arrived at 9:21 this morning.

Sun glare

“The glare of dawn and dusk can be difficult for some drivers to adjust to and it’s important that they do that,” Weinholzer says. “Because the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer, it can also have an impact on making us feel more drowsy and we should be aware of that as well.”

While the autumnal equinox marks the first day of fall in Iowa and all across the northern hemisphere, on the other half of the world south of the equator, this is the first day of spring.

(Radio Iowa)

Today: Partly cloudy to cloudy w/scattered showers & thunderstorms. High 85. S @ 10-20.

Tonight: Scattered showers & tstrms. Low 72. SE @ 5-10.

Tomorrow: P/Cldy, warm & humid. High 89. S @ 10-20.

Saturday: P/Cldy to Cldy w/scattered shwrs & tstrms late. High 87.

Sunday: Mo. Cldy & cooler, w/shwrs & tstrms. High around 70.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 94. Our 24-hour Low (ending today at 7-a.m.) was 70.  Last year on this date, our High in Atlantic was 86 and the low was 59. The Record High in Atlantic on this date was 98 in 1937. The Record Low was 27 in 1974, 1995 & 2012.

SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL COUNTIES; 9/22/16

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS (THURSDAY( EVENING.

HEAVY RAINFALL HAS ALREADY BEEN OBSERVED IN PORTIONS OF NORTHERN IOWA WITH ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY EXPECTED TO SPREAD SOUTHWARD ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL IOWA THIS MORNING. THIS COULD PRODUCE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. IF THE HEAVIER RAIN FALLS OVER AREAS THAT HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED HEAVY RAIN…THE FLOODING WILL BE EXACERBATED AND COULD LEAD TO A DANGEROUS FLASH FLOOD SITUATION.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED.

Early This Morning: Mostly cloudy. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Today: Partly sunny with a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms. High in the mid 80s. South wind 5 to 15 mph.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. Low in the upper 60s. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny. High in the upper 80s. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear. Low in the mid 60s. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny in the morning…then mostly cloudy with thunderstorms likely in the afternoon. High in the lower 80s. South wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of thunderstorms 70 percent.

Saturday Night: Thunderstorms. Low in the lower 60s. Chance of thunderstorms 80 percent.

Sunday: Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms. Cooler. High in the upper 60s.