Iowa Weather Report December 28th 2014: Rush from the North Pole

HERE COMES THE COLD: A sunny and rather seasonal day across the state with readings in the 20s and 30s. There will be increasing clouds by late in the day and into tonight ahead of a cold front that will drop into the state Monday. This will bring some light snow or flurries to the state with the best chance of seeing any activity over the western half of the state. Highs on Monday will occur early in the day in the western counties, in the teens and lower 20s before falling, while the eastern counties may see readings get into the upper 20s through the middle 30s before falling around sunset or so. Thereafter the readings take a tumble as we head into Tuesday where highs will struggle to get out of the single digits in the northern and northwestern counties, while the rest of the state should see readings in the teens. Lows will be in the single digits above and below zero. This will last through mid-week when temperatures will moderate to near seasonal levels as we move into the new year.

THE FIRST OF 2015: The first storm of the New Year looks to arrive on Friday and last through Saturday. This could bring some significant snow and perhaps even a wintry mix to the state. This run has the low pressure center moving just to the southeast of the state, but close enough where the southeastern counties could see a wintry mix before changing to all snow. The rest of the state would see some snow. As is the case, it’s still too early to determine any amounts at this point, however as mentioned yesterday, this storm will need to be monitored in the coming days as any deviation in the track could change the weather forecast dramatically.

THEREAFTER: In the wake of the system next weekend, another blast of arctic air looks to settle in for a few days the week after next weekend. Like the upcoming cold blast, the GFS is showing that temperatures will moderate after a few days to near seasonal levels. However, between then and now there will be several systems that may drop a plethora of precipitation that still may change how this model run handles things, including temperature. Looking toward the end of the extended period, the weather looks somewhat active with some systems but nothing of any significance at this point, however we will continue for any changes in the coming days.