Iowa Weather Report February 3rd 2015: The Clipper Train

CLIPPERS: After the big storm this past weekend, it is time for another bout of snow for some parts of the state over the next two days. The first one will blow in today bringing some snow across mainly the northern and northeastern counties of the state. Amounts around an inch or two are possible with this clipper as it quickly moves through the area. It will be moving out later tonight in time for the next one to come in Wednesday that will mainly effect the southern and southwestern counties of the state. An inch or two is possible with this system as well before it departs later on Wednesday night. Readings today will be in the middle and upper teens north and northeast to the lower 30s in the southwestern counties. Wednesday will have readings in the teens and lower 20s across the entire state.

FEBRUARY FREEZE: Temperatures look to really tank Thursday morning with lows well below zero for most of the state. We could see some -10s in some areas that have the heaviest snowpack, especially if winds calm and skies clear out from the second storm that will move through on Wednesday. Temperatures look to rebound slowly as we head toward the weekend with readings back into the 20s and 30s by that time. These readings will be tempered down due to the amount of snowpack we have on the ground, but some compaction is possible in our western and southern counties this weekend. Any melting that does occur will refreeze during the overnight hours and could cause some travel issues at that time. The temperatures look to stay warm until early next week before another batch of cold air looks to move in.

EXTENDED PERIOD: The GFS shows another batch of Arctic air coming back into the area around Valentine’s Day. This would be preceded by another clipper system that could bring some snow to the state at that time. The GFS is also showing a storm of some significance over the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley around the 18th or so. It is something to look at but given that it’s still more than two weeks out, confidence in this solution that far out is very low until any trend develops in the coming days.