Iowa Weather Report April 12th 2015: Stormy Skies!

STORMY SUNDAY: A cold front will be moving through the state today bringing with it a chance of some showers and thunderstorms. None of the storms are expected to be severe, however some of the stronger ones could contain some small hail. Highs today will be in the 60s to lower 70s across the state. Rainfall from this system will be about a quarter to half inch with some isolated heavier totals.

MORE ACTIVITY: Monday and Tuesday look quiet with sunny skies and readings mainly in the 60s across the state on Monday, with 60s and 70s possible on Tuesday as the winds veer back to the south ahead of the next system. That system will move into the state on Wednesday and looks to linger around the area through at least Friday. The best chances of seeing prolonged precipitation will be to the south of the state, however we can’t rule out a chance of showers and thunderstorms Wednesday through Friday. This will not be all day rains by any means and we may even see some peaks of sunshine intertwined with the precipitation. Readings will be in the 60s for the most part but can’t rule out an isolated 70 degree temperature if any sunshine does happen to break through. Clouds will stick around in our southeastern counties on Saturday as the storm that will be to our south begins to lift out to the northeast. We may still see a slight chance of shower down there, with skies beginning to clear out for the rest of the state. Next Sunday looks to bring another system into the state by late in the day but confidence in the timing is low at this time.

LOOKING AHEAD: As we look into the extended period, the GFS is showing much colder air moving in following the storm next Sunday. April 20th and 21st may only see highs in the 40s and 50s across the state. A disturbance is seen moving through the state late on the 21st and depending on timing and temperature, there could be a chance that the precipitation may not just be in the form of rain. We should note, we are still weeks away from the typical last frost across the state, so this would not be uncommon to see lows below freezing late in April at night. Temperatures look to rebound to near seasonal levels by the 23rd as another system looks to approach at that time with some more precipitation. After that the GFS is showing readings near to slightly below seasonal levels through the end of the period.