Iowa Weather Report May 31st 2015: Sunshine to End May and Begin June

ON THE WAY UP: Plenty of sunshine around the state today with readings well into the 60s and lower 70s for the most part, a much different story than it was for most of the state yesterday where clouds held tough in the eastern half of the state for most of the day. Temperatures will rise back into the 70s and even 80s as we head into the middle of the week. It will remain mainly dry for the most part outside an isolated shower or storm in the far western counties Monday and Tuesday of next week.

ACTIVITY RETURNS: More shower and thunderstorm activity looks to return to the state on Wednesday and last through the end of the week and into next weekend. It will not be all day wash outs by any means and we may see some dry time during the daylight hours where some sunshine may peek through from time to time. Temperatures during this period will be in the upper 70s to middle 80s across the state depending on the amount of sunshine we get day to day. Some of the storms could become strong but as of yet, no severe weather risk has been denoted by the Storm Prediction Center at this time. We’ll keep watching it in the coming days. Rainfall amounts at the end of the week could be around a half to three quarters of an inch with isolated heavier totals in areas that get repeated thunderstorm activity.

LOOKING FARTHER INTO JUNE: As we look into the extended period which takes us into the middle of June, the first part of the extended looks rather quiet with a northwesterly flow that will keep temperatures a tad below seasonal levels if this pans out. The model shows the flow turning more zonal around the 12th which bring activity back into the state at that time. Warmer weather is possible toward the middle of the month, perhaps the first heat wave of summer. We’ll have to wait and see.