Iowa Weather Report November 23rd 2014: Wet then White

RAIN AND SNOW: The next system will be moving in from the south and southwest today and last through Monday with some rain today and some snow Monday especially in the eastern counties of the state. Rainfall amounts could be heavy in the eastern counties of the state where an inch or more could be possible. Highs today will be in the 40s in the northwestern counties to the 50s over the rest of the state. A cold front will sweep across the state from the west later today into tonight that will drop readings below freezing and changeover the rain to some snow. Most of the precipitation will be over the eastern half of the state while the western half may not get much more than a few flurries. Any accumulating snow will be over the eastern third of the state where 1-2” is possible there. There could be some totals higher than that. Readings heading into Monday will be in the 20s west to the 30s east.

THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK: The cold air looks to stay put through the week but it should not be as cold as the last cold snap last week. However readings in the 20s to lower 30s will be likely through Thanksgiving. Tuesday will be mainly dry, although an isolated flurry or snow shower cannot be ruled out. Another disturbance rounding the ridge off to our west will quickly move in on Wednesday with some light snow possible, although any accumulations look rather minor at this time. The GFS shows a warm front coming through Thursday night which will warm readings well into the 40s on Friday, however we’ve also seen runs where readings would remain below seasonal levels for Black Friday. If the GFS does verify, the warmth only looks to last a day as another push of arctic air blasts in for the weekend with some more light snow chances as well.

DECEMBER: As we look into the extended period and the first week of December, the GFS is showing a quick moving flow with several systems that could take aim at the state during the time period. One system of some significance looks to move in around the 5th and 6th of December with some precipitation at that time. It’s too early to determine what type of precipitation it could be but it’s a storm we will have to watch closely if it continues to be shown on models in the coming days. The model also suggests that any cold snaps we may get look to be short lived with mainly near seasonal readings likely being the norm, although this could change with subsequent model runs.