Iowa Weather Network Archives from 2008 to 2017
Welcome to my “Following the Prairie” article, offering awareness and a look into what Iowa once was. The plants and scenes you are seeing are just a small piece of what was once called a “sea of grasses and flowers” that covered nearly all of Iowa. The photos offering this glimpse are from a prairie …
What a beautiful week to follow the prairie. Three weeks ago, this was black and lifeless after the controlled burn that was done – now it is bursting with beauty. I have seen several types of flowers blooming now that the weather has warmed, including these Lousewort flowers, also called Wood Betony. These are interesting plants …
Last week was quite cool cloudy and wet, and because of this there was a very slow progression in spring growth, up until now. This week, we are turning things around and going to go back to normal – even pushing 80 by weeks end! I expect things will speed up quite drastically this week. Crabapples …
I have been watching the small patch of remnant prairie here in Cumming, Iowa over the past few weeks and it is starting to become full of life! However, before all this new life started, one of the most destructive forces occurred first and that is fire. A prescribed burn was preformed on the prairie …
What a beautiful time of year we have reached here in southern Iowa! Redbuds are in full bloom and grace our cities, towns and country sides with wonderful shades of purplish pink. Serviceberry is another one I have seen blooming. The Magnolias that bloomed about 2 weeks ago are done blooming now. Lilacs and Crab …
We have reached mid-spring splendor here in Southern Iowa, and what a beautiful place to be at this time of year! I hope everyone is taking in the chance to notice in the changing seasons as we have reached one of the most beautiful stages of the year. Here on the south side of the state, about …
What a progression we have made in a very short time! It has only been four days since my last update, but so much has happened since then. The last four days have brought much warmer temperatures in the 70s and 80s. We received a little more rain last night (0.34″) and these things combined …
This week temperatures have been quite cool, starting off in the 30s for highs Tuesday last week when we had rain, and slowly moderating to the lower 60s today. Plants had a much slower progressing due to this from previous weeks. The only exception to this being the grass, which has seen a quick progression with …
Spring is continuing to progress here in southern Iowa and now residents have begun to take notice. Lawns have begun to turn green and early trees and shrubs such as Lilac bushes and Willows have started to develop leaves, adding a rare hint of green on a relatively dull landscape. My Northern Gold Forsythia has …
Have we skipped March and went right to July? Today we got a blast of heat from the southwest pushing highs way above normal into the 80s and even Iowa’s first 90 of the season at Sioux City. Record highs for the date were broken or tied including at Des Moines with a tied record …