Short Term

Today was a much better day than Monday with beautiful fall temperatures and skies. Highs ranged from the 50s to low 60s for the majority of the state with mostly clear skies. This trend should continue into tonight with mostly clear skies and low temperatures in the lower 30s (north) to the upper 30s (south). The low pressure system in western Ontario with long extending cold front mentioned in previous forecasts has since moved east allowing for skies to clear. Elsewhere, a high pressure system was lurking near Oklahoma with multiple low pressure centers hanging out along the long moving warm front.

Tomorrow should be another tranquil day for the state. There will be some chances for a light rain early in the morning for the northern one-third of the state, however these chances should return to zero by noon. High temperatures will be in the upper 50s (north) to the mid to upper 60s (south). Winds will be a bit gusty at 15 to 20 MPH from the west, so it will feel a bit nippy for some, especially in the north. A low pressure system will be building into the northern plains with a warm front extending southeastward from it into the state. This system should break the tranquility we’ve been having the last couple of days and set the stage for a more active period.

Wednesday night is when the forecast may begin to get a little tricky. Low temperatures are expected to be in the low to mid 30s (north) to the upper 30s to low 40s (south). As the system moves southeast into the area, cloud cover should begin to increase across the area and offer precipitation chances. A wintry mix will be possible for those in the northern one-third of the state where temperatures will be lurking around the freezing level. Rain chances will prevail elsewhere. One concern that you do have to factor is that winds on Wednesday night may be conductive for blowing around the fresh snow (if any falls) with gusts to 30-40 MPH possible. There should not be any major accumulation, but you should still monitor this situation if you’re planning to head out overnight Wednesday.

Long Term

The long term period will be much more active for Iowa. The clipper system from Wednesday night should be the Zamboni for the upcoming weather changes. Several cold weather systems will be allowed to pass through the gates and into the area as the upper level pattern across the east collapses. This will likely strengthen the cold weather’s grasp on Iowa over the next couple of weeks. Highs on Thursday  will be in the 40s with sub-freezing temperatures for lows. The worst of this cool down should stay to the east of us, so there is that benefit.

Another clipper system will stride it’s way into Iowa this weekend. Weather don’t look to be changing too much from Thursday with highs struggling in the 40s and lows in the 20s and 30s. Friday night will likely be a windy and cold night with gusts to 40 MPH again possible. A carbon copy forecast could be considered for Saturday, with winds being the only exception.

Outside of Friday, it’s hard to tell what will really happen. It will be cold. That’s one thing we know. Sunday temperatures will dip, dip, and dip into the 20s north and 30s south. Temperatures will only get colder as we enter the new week. Models have been fairly inconsistent on what to expect Monday and Tuesday. Some are showing a potential winter storm over our northern counties for the beginning of the work week, but it is hard to say what is going to happen with any accuracy. This will have to be monitored as we get closer. Stay tuned for further updates.