Iowa Weather Report December 13th 2014: Rainy Night (by) Sunday Night

CLOUDY, DRIZZLY, BLAH: The weekend while being warmer than average by a ways, it will continue to have clouds or in some parts that saw sunshine yesterday, the clouds returning. This will be ahead of the next system that will move into the state late on Sunday through the day on Monday into the early part of Tuesday. This will first bring warmer temperatures into the state with 40s and 50s likely this weekend. It will also bring rain which looks to move in late Sunday and Sunday night and lasting through the day on Monday before changing over to some snow as the precipitation ends early Tuesday morning. Any accumulating snow would likely be over the northwestern quarter to third of the state where an inch or two may fall. We should have better estimates by this weekend. Rainfall will generally be around a quarter to half inch across the area.

NEXT SYSTEM: We don’t stay quiet for long before the next system looks to move in late Wednesday night through Friday. This system looks to bring mainly snow to the area, although some rain may be mixed in during the daytime in the southeastern counties. Some models have wavered with this system, its strength and its track. This run would bring some accumulating snows to a large portion of the state. It’s still too early to focus on this storm at this time. We’ll have better details by early next week. Temperatures during this period will be near seasonal levels in the upper 20s through the middle 30s with readings possibly dropping a bit further following this system depending on any snowpack.

NEARING THE END: Going into the extended period, the GFS is showing a rather active pattern moving through the area with several systems of significance. These systems around the 22nd through the 23rd and again Christmas Night into the 26th could bring us some possible accumulating snows. The latter system looks to also bring a plunge of arctic air to the state again. Of course we have plenty of time to watch this and perhaps see something new in the coming days as well.