Iowa Weather Report June 16th 2015: OMG There’s No Rain Today!

RAIN HERE AND THERE: The forecast through the rest of the week and into the weekend will have numerous chances of showers and thunderstorms across the state. Today however will not be one of them as we should see mainly sunny skies and much drier air across the area. Highs today will be in the 70s to near 80 for highs. More rain moves back into the state late tonight and into Wednesday and this looks to last off and on through Sunday. Tropical Storm Bill will be moving inland later today across the Texas Gulf Coast. The remnants will move north and then northeastward into the Middle Mississippi River Valley by the middle to end of this week. It should remain to the south of the state keeping the heaviest rain in a band from Dallas to Tulsa to St Louis eastward. However, if the system moves further northward then what is currently shown, some of the heavy rain may skirt into our far southeastern counties of the state. It’s a very fluid situation that we’ll have to keep an eye on over the next 24-48 hours. Highs during the period will be relatively benign with 70s and 80s for highs. There will be some dry periods intermixed with the rain chances and we could see several hours during the day without rain and perhaps even a bit of sunshine. Don’t cancel any outdoor plans just yet.

FORWARD THINKING: Looking into the extended period, a 594 heat ridge will be building across the southern tier of the country. This will move the main storm track just to the north of the state, however it still will be close enough for a system the middle of next week. Highs will be near seasonal levels, however if the ridge builds further to the north, the temperatures may be higher. The ridge looks to continue toward the following weekend to our south with more showers and thunderstorms possible around here in the ring of fire. The GFS shows a trough digging in across the Great Lakes and northeast as we move toward the end of June into the 1st of July. This would put the state in a northwesterly flow with more systems possible, although not as many and would keep temperatures below seasonal levels as well. We’ll see if this continues in model runs over the next couple of days.