A Snow Covered Northeast

As posted earlier, here is an updated map of snow cover from the Northeast. Some totals from this weekends are in excess of 2 to 2.5 feet. With it still being fall, more trees had leaves than usual so the added weight of the snow allowed for plenty of trees to fall. This caused widespread power outages of almost 3 million homes and businesses. It could be up to a week before all power is restored. Sadly 11 deaths can be attributed to the Nor'easter.

November Weather Outlook...

According to the Climate Prediction Center, the month of November is going to feature above normal temperatures (shown above). Unfortunately, precipiation looks like its going to be the direct opposite of temperatures.

The image below shows the Quad Cities right on the line for below normal precip next month. As of Sunday afternoon, only 0.65" of rain fell in the QC during the month of October and we are 5.34" below normal for the year.

A Snowy Halloween Weekend in the Northeast...

While the weather is a bit cool here in the Quad Cities this weekend, it could be worse. The Northeast is getting slammed with snow!!!

Several states have counties under winter storm warnings and winter weather advisorys through Sunday (shown below).

Some areas in Pennsylvania have picked up 6-10 inches of snow. Pennsylvania hasn't seen this much snow, in the fall since 1972.

Forecasters are also saying Southern Vermont could get more than a foot of snow by Sunday.

St. Louis Cardinals World Series Game 7

As a few sprinkles pass just north of St Louis this evening things should be fine for GAME 7! Hopefully it's as good as last night's game was...

Another Dry Month

While it's not the driest October ever in the QC we sure haven't seen much rain around here this month! In fact, if it wasn't for October 12th we'd have less than a tenth of an inch of rain this month!

October Rain:

11th - 0.04"
12th - 0.54"
13th - 0.01"
16th - 0.01"
25th - 0.01"
27th - 0.01"

Colorado Snow

Here's the update on the temp drop in the QC as of 3pm Wednesday...also, places in the Rockies have seen a big temperature drop AND significant snow over the last 24 hours! Here's a pic from a friend of mine who was riding a bike yesterday in Vail...and today he's shovelling snow!

A Drop in Temperatures!

As of now the 24 hour temperature change for the Quad Cities in a drop of 11°. That will move to close to 20° below yesterday's highs later today as temperatures only rise to about 54°. The high temperature was 78° on Tuesday, and the cooler temps are here to stay. The highs through the weekend will be in the mid-upper 50s. It' now definitely feeling more like fall, just in time for Halloween.

Look Out Cancun! (Here Comes Rina!)

If you have travel plans to Cancun or Cozumel or Playa del Carmen this week or next you better call your airline/travel agent/hotel etc! There's a dangerous hurricane lurking and it could make a direct landfall on the resort areas! Here's a snapshot form the NHC and a link to the storm:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at3.shtml?5-daynl?large#contents

Northern Lights Time Lapse from Michigan

Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

Monday night has turned out to be a great night for spotting the Northern Lights! People in places as far South as Oklahoma and Tennessee reported seeing the Aurora with either a reddish or green tint! Please let us know if you were lucky enough to spot the amazing light show on Monday night! Here's a link with more info:

http://spaceweather.com/

Photo courtesy of spaceweather.com

Tropical Storm Rina

Tropical Storm Rina is expected to move over the Yucatan Peninsula within the next few days. It is a slow moving system and is also forecasted to increase in strength. Current conditions are a maximum sustained wind speed of 40 mph moving NNW at 6 mph with a central pressure of 1003 MB. Rainfall totals in Honduras can be from 1-3 inches causing flash flooding and possible mud slides over mountainous terrain.

An Earthquake Shakes Turkey on Sunday...

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake shook Eastern Turkey early Sunday. As of Sunday afternoon, 85 people lost their lives. The map above shows where the earthquake started (indicated by the darker cirles) and how far out trembles were felt in region (light colored circle of blue).

Here is raw video from CBS News shortly after the quake hit.

The Winter Weather Outlook...

The predictions for this year's winter are in and it looks like it could be another cold, snowy winter for the Quad Cities. The climate Prediction Center is forecasting below normal temperatures for our region during the months of December trhough February (shown above).

In addition to the below normal temps also comes the chance for slight above normal precipitation (shown below). However, it appears the QC is right on the fringe for above normal precip. We will just have to wait and see!

Orionids Meteor Shower Tonight...

It is going to be a chilly night tonight although not as cold. Temps will drop into the mid to upper 30s.

However, it is going to be nice, clear night to view the Orionids Meteor Shower!

The best time to see the shower tonight is just after midnight. All you have to do is just look up and you should be able to see something tonight! Enjoy the weekend!

Freeze Tonight!

There's a FREEZE WARNING in effect for the QCA tonight as temps are expected to drop into the upper 20s! While it might seem a little early to some of us this freeze is pretty close to right on schedule!

Weather Poll at cbs4qc.com

Do me a favor and vote in the poll at the top of our Weather page at cbs4qc.com!

Have you turned on the furnace (heat) at your house yet this season?
-Yes
-No
-Today for the 1st time


http://www.whbf.com/weather

Close Call for Cards Tonight

It looks like a very close call for baseball in St. Louis tonight! After a rainy day down there they've seen a bit of break from the wet weather over the last few hours. Now though there's more rain approaching from the NW, I'm sure everyone's keeping a very close eye on the weather down there this evening!

Viewer Pics

Thanks again to Randy H. for sending in these pics!

Dust storm video from Monday in Lubbock, TX...pretty good video!

Tropical Cyclone Developing

In the Gulf of Mexico a low pressure system has a 60% chance of developing into a tropical cyclone. It has had little change in the last couple of hours and consists of gusty winds and heavy rains. Even if the system does not become more organized it will deliver those conditions to Southern Florida, Western Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula. An Air Force Reserve reconnaissance Plane is scheduled to investigate it later this afternoon.

Cooler Weather for the Week Ahead...

On Saturday, we showed you the forecasted low temperatures for the week ahead (shown below) and now here are the forecasted high temperatures compared to the normals. Right now, we should have high temps in the lower 60s, but this week temperatures will only climb into the low to mid 50s. Temps will return to the 60s by next weekend.

Chilly Temps Coming to the Quad Cities...

Both our high and low temperatures for next week are going to be below average for this time of the year. Below is a graph showing the forecasted low temps as of Saturday evening compared to our average low temperatures.

Right now, our average low temps are between 40° and 42° (Shown by the solid white line). However, by the middle of the week low temps are going to dip into the mid to upper 30s!

Some neighborhoods, especially those to the North of the QCA, could drop to the freezing mark!

10/12/11 Storm Reports

The cold front that gave us showers yesterday and into last night actually produced some severe weather. Texas experienced some high winds which blew down trees and power lines. Hail ranging from quarter to half dollar size was reported in Missouri. To top it all off, a weak tornado was reported in Northwestern Arkansas in an open field. Luckily no damage was reported from that tornado.

More Showers and T-Storms

As Travis posted earlier in the day we're looking at more showers and t-storms this evening in the Quad Cities! The next band of stormy weather is now entering the Iowa City and Burlington areas and should reach the Quad Cities late this evening. Through the late afternoon showers the Quad Cities has picked up about 0.34" of rain, remember though - there's more on the way!

A Wet Middle of the Week.

Rain showers began to fall in the mid morning hours today. A few showers had small thunderstorms embedded within them. The rain is expected to be heaviest tonight and taper off by mid-day Thursday. We could see up to 1 inch of rain with this system, which is good since that last significant rain fall was at the end of September.

Light Rain for Now

While we've seen off-and-on showers in the QC for the last few hours the rain totals have been VERY LIGHT! So far almost all locations are reporting less than a tenth of an inch! Today's showers are now winding down, with another chance for heavier rain set to arrive Wednesday!

Still Watching the Tropics...

Even though it is October, hurricane season isn't over just yet! Right now, the Atlantic Ocean is quiet, but it's a different story in the Pacific Ocean as there are two active storms.

Tropical Storm Irwin has winds of 50 mph and it's moving at a very slow speed of 5 mph towards the East-Northeast. It is expected to stay a tropical storm at least through Friday.

Hurricane Jova is expected to make landfall in Western Mexico by the middle of this week. Right now, Jova has winds of 90 mph and is churning towards the East at 8 mph. It is forecasted to make landfall as a Hurricane late Tuesday night(track of storm shown below). Hurricane warnings are in effect for areas along Western Mexico.

Meteorologists are also keeping an eye on another low pressure system near Western Mexico. Forecasters say it has a 70% chance of developing into a tropical storm over the next 48 hours (the area of concern is circled in red in the top image).

Severe Weather in the Central Plains Friday...

A cold front is slowly working its way Eastward through the Central U.S. and it's ushering in some more seasonable air into the Plain States right now. On Friday, the cold front sparked some severe weather including tornadoes.

There were three reported tornadoes in Western Kansas. In adddition to the tornado reports, there were 28 wind damage reports and 22 reports of large hail strecthing from Central Nebraska down through Northern Texas and Eastern New Mexico. This front will move through the QCA late Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Viewer Pics

Thanks to Randy H. for sending in some nice fall pictures! Feel free to send us your pictures to and have a great weekend! Pictures featured are from Alexis, IL and Lake Geode (Near Burlington, IA)

Fall Color Update

We're seeing some beautiful fall colors right now around the QCA, especially north of town! With perfect weather on tap through the weekend a fall drive might be a good idea too...

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here are a few ways you can get out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather!

So How Long Will Temps Stay Above Average?

According to the Climate Prediction Center, temperatures will continue to be above average for this time of year from October 13th through the 19th (shown above)! However, precipitation will be below normal during the same time period (shown below). In the meantime, enjoy the warmth!

Dust Storm in AZ

Another dust storm affected the Phoenix, AZ area yesterday (10/4/11), causing multi-car pileups. A southwest wind that gusted upwards of 40 mph and dry soil allowed for the dust to rise up to a mile into the air. These storms can develop very quickly and can reduce visibilities to zero. NWS forecasters say the winds will decrease for today but as another system is forecasted to move in Thursday. the winds from that system can gust as high as they were on Tuesday.

Another Great Day!

Here's a couple ways to look at our beautiful day! The visible satellite shows no clouds around the QCA, and the surface conditions show sunny skies and temps near 80°! Enjoy!

What is an Indian Summer

With temperatures around 10 degrees above average this week, meteorologists may use the term Indian Summer. This term is defined by unseasonably warm conditions after colder weather and more importantly a frost event. This usually occurs in late October and early November. Though its not that late in the season, we did see some frost this past weekend as well as below average temperatures. So enjoy this warmer weather while it lasts!

The Real Raindrop Shape

Contrary to popular belief, raindrops are not the teardrop shape we all see in graphics. As the water falls through the atmosphere air resistance allows the drop to form a bag-like shape. The bag "pops" and the smaller dropplets collide with others to go through the same process. This allows for raindrops to be different sizes as they reach the ground. Lucky for us though, no rain is in our forecast!

Above Normal Temps This Week....

A ridge of high pressure is going to be in place over the QCA for much of the week. That means high temperatures will be 7-12 degrees above our average highs.

Right now, high temps should be in the upper 60s to low 70s. However, this week temperatures will be flirting with 80° for much of the week. Check out the graph above! Normal temps are shown by the white line.

A Chilly Saturday Morning Around the QC...

Temps on Saturday morning started out in the 30s! The coldest spots were Clinton and Galena as they both dropped into the lower 30s.

It will be cold once again Saturday night as all areas around the Quad Cities are under a Frost Advisory since temperatures will fall into the 30s for overnight lows.

Warmer weather returns when you had back to work on Monday! Have a great weekend.