Iowa Weather Report December 27th 2014: Gonna Be a COLD Week Ahead

TYPICAL WEEKEND: It will be a typical late December weekend across the state with readings mainly in the 20s and 30s. A storm system will be departing the state to the east taking the rain and snow with it. Any accumulations will be over the northern counties of the state but a few flakes could fly anywhere through the morning into the early afternoon hours. Skies will begin to clear late in the day. Sunday will see plenty of sunshine around.

THE BIG CHILL: An arctic front will plow through the state late Sunday through Monday bringing with it a chance of some light snow or a few flurries, but the main story will be the much colder air that will be blowing in from the northwest. This will drop highs down into the single digits and teens by mid-week with lows at or below zero for a large section of the state (mainly areas with snow cover). This will last for most of the upcoming week with readings slowly moderating toward the end of the week back into the 20s for highs. It will be mainly sunny during the day and mainly clear at night.

THE NEXT SYSTEM: The next system will be approaching the state on Friday into Saturday. The GFS is showing that this system could be significant with some moderate to heavy snows possible in the area. It’s still too early to determine actual amounts at this point, but this is a system that will be monitored for the next couple of days. This could be the first significant system of the winter for the area.

LOOKING FORWARD: The GFS shows several shots of cold air coming in from the northwest during the extended period which takes us toward the middle of the month. These would bring several shots of some snow as well. These cold shots don’t look to last too long as the flow will be rather progressive with readings quickly rebounding after a day or two. We’ll keep watching for any changes or trends in the coming days, however the main story will be the big cold snap coming next week.