Severe T-Storm Chance this Week

It's nice most of the fog lifted from earlier today, but some low clouds have hung around all day long!  With clouds in place temperatures have been cool throughout the day!

Things are about to change though, with a warm front expected to lift north through the area over the next 24-36 hours.  We'll notice a big jump in the temperatures, from the 50s to 80s for highs for a lot of us...and we'll notice an increase in the humidity!  With higher humidity, warmer temps and a front nearby the stage will be set for a daily chance for showers/storms starting Tuesday.  Some of the storms could be strong to severe and some of the rain could be heavy later this week, stay tuned!

A Foggy Monday

The Quad Cities National Weather Service has issued a Dense Fog Advisory until 10am (CST).  After some late night rain, the moisture stuck around, allowing for temperatures to be at the dew point.  With the dew point and temperature being the same, a cloud forms at the ground, this cloud at ground level is given the name fog.  The fog looks to clear by mid-day and we may even get a glimpse of the sun this afternoon.  The image below is of our skycam from 6:45am and the advisory graphic is above.

Climate Outlook for May...

The Climate Prediction Center has issued their Climate Outlook for the month of May.  Right now, it looks like both precipitation and temperatures will be around average for the month ahead.  But, temps will start out well above average for the first week of May.  Temperatures will be climbing into the mid to upper 70s. 

But, it's still early!



A Rainy Weekend in the Quad Cities...

Here are Saturday's rainfall totals for your neighborhood as of 5pm.  The Quad Cities picked up almost a half an inch of rain while Clinton picked up just under an inch.  While this weekend's rains may have put a damper on your outdoor plans, it is much needed rain.

So far this year our precip totals are 2.80" below normal and since March 1st we are 2.36" below where should be for this time of year.

During the month of April, we've picked up 2.17", but that's still 1.15" below average for this month.  We'll have more chances for rain over the next two days before the calendar changes over to May on Tuesday. 

So we could break even for this month, but we'll have to wait and see!  Stay dry and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Rain Chances Go Up Tonight

Most of our Friday has been OK so far, but our Friday night still looks wet.  While there's just a slight chance for showers this evening the much better chance for rain arrives late tonight.  Notice the showers in Nebraska and the Dakotas on this map...they'll arrive here around midnight. 

Rain on the Way for Friday

While it won't be the heaviest rain we've ever seen it does look like a very high chance for rain Friday night/early Saturday!  An area of low pressure will slide by to the south, placing the QC at risk for a cold rain late Friday night.  Depending on the exact speed of the system the rain will end either early Sat morning or a little later Sat afternoon, details on that coming in the next 24 hours!  Most places should see close to half an inch of rain...

Win $25 Gift Cert to Wallace's Garden Center

Each Wednesday we head to Wallace's Garden Center for "Outdoor Living!"  Hopefully you've seen some of the great tips over the last few weeks!  There's a box in the store where you can jot down your question for the experts and if they choose your question they'll give you a great prize!  Some of the prizes will be seasonal and other prizes, including this week, will be $25 gift certificates!  All questions are also entered into the grand prize drawing at the end of the year, which will be worth close to $2,000 worth of stuff!  Just go to the Garden Ctr and ask for the CBS4 question box!

CBS4 is now a StormReady Station

On Tuesday April 24th, WHBF-TV became the 7th television station in the nation to be "StormReady".  The project to become StormReady was spearheaded by Chief Meteorologist Andy McCray, it was a rigorous process but Andy made sure it went very smoothly.

The goal of being "StormReady" is to prepare the community and the station with an action plan in the event of any severe weather - from tornadoes to blizzards.  The application process involved a few requirements for the station complete.  These include developing a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes appropriate sheltering, have more than one way to receive severe weather forecasts and warnings, have a redundant and effective means to alert on and off-site staff of hazardous conditions, promote the importance of readiness through training and drills, have primary and backup methods to broadcast severe weather alerts and to partner with local NWS and emergency management in community preparedness efforts.

CBS4 , as noted above is the 7th TV station in the nation to get this recognition, the 2nd in Illinois and the first in the Quad Cities.  We are now part of the 213 StormReady supporters in 31 states that are prepared for any type of severe weather.

(As a side note; the NWS was adamant to say that this is a recognition not a certification.  The use of the word "Certification" would imply, that in the case of a casualty, at the station, due to severe weather, the NWS would be liable for that casualty, since the NWS "certified" the station.  Therefore we are recognized as a "StormReady Supporter".)

High Temperatures Wednesday

Model Plots

After a mild Tuesday afternoon Wednesday looks even warmer!  With a warm front draped across the area we can expect a big spread in high temps...areas SW of the QC will reach the lower 80s, but places well NE of the QC may only make the upper 60s!  Obviously the exact placement of the warm front will be critical to exactly how much your town warms up.  Here's a temperature plot for a few models for the Quad Cities.  Notice the spread in high temps on Wednesday, some models say lower 70s (warm front would be to the South) while others suggest mid 80s (warm front to the North!)  We've got some "Decisions, decisions, decisions" when it comes to the Wednesday forecast, which model will be right?

Northern Lights in Iowa and Illinois

Updated at 11 pm ----->  Here's another link which takes you to a test product on aurora forecasts, and the image as of 11 pm looks like this:  http://helios.swpc.noaa.gov/ovation/

Earlier post:  We've seen many reports of the Northern Lights being spotted in Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa tonight...including places as close as DeKalb, Rockford and Belvidere, Illinois!  Most of these reports have coming within the last 30 minutes...if you see anything feel free to post about it here!

Here's a link with some of the latest data:
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/pmap/pmapN.html

Win a Pair of 2-Way/Weather Radios!

We starting up a great giveaway this week at CBS4!  This Friday we'll give away 3 pairs of Motorola 2-Way Radios!  They're also equipped with 7 NOAA radio channels and a flashlight among other things!  To register go to our website, http://www.cbs4qc.com/  Good luck!  If you don't win this week keep watching, as we'll give away 3 pairs for 5 straight Fridays!

A company returns to work after a tornado

Just over a week after it was struck by an EF-3 tornado, Spirit AreoSystems will resume production. The Wichita, Kansas based company produces plan parts, and not the small ones, actual sections of the plane. The tornado hit the main building and caused damage to the side walls, the roof, and debris was found all around the facility. Cleanup crews worked quickly and the plant is forecasted to ship its first Boeing fuselage only 6days after the tornado hit. It will be a bit hectic Monday morning with the cleanup still in progress and all workers returning to work. All large machines and the fuselage sections remained within the building and undamaged during the tornado. the company will be a bit behind but due to the damage but the cleanup is ahead of schedule.

Spring Snow Storm

It's going to be another cold night in the Quad Cities. So cold in some neighborhoods that the National Weather Service has issued a Freeze Warning for Jo Daviess, Jackson, Clinton, Carroll, Whiteside, Lee, and Bureau Counties. While you and your plants may not be liking this cold weather right now, it could be worse!

Our neighbors to the East, in Western Pensylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia are bracing for a Springs Snowstorm! Many areas are under a Winter Weather Adivsory or Winter Storm Warning from now til late Monday night into early Tuesday morning.

The counties shaded in red are under a Winter Storm Warning and those area could pick up 4-8" of snow. While the counties in yellow are under a Winter Weather Advisory including downtown Pittsburgh and they could pick up 3-5" of snow by late tomorrow night.

Light rain tonight for the QCA

A weak low pressure system is heading past the Quad City Area and it will give us some light showers overnight tonight. No signifigant rain is expected for our area but light rain is on the way. The left over clouds stick around early Sunday but they will be gone by Sunday afternoon as temperatures rise into the lower 60s.

Frost Adv/Freeze Warning Tonight

I hope you're ready for another cold night in the QCA! With clearing skies Friday night temps will dip into the lower/middle 30s across most of the area by early Saturday morning. Now that we're into our growing season you'll need to cover any senstive plants that are left outside. This is especially true NE of the Quad Cities where temps will be the coldest!

Rain Approaching

Rain has been light so far today, and there's more light rain on the way! The next batch of showers will push into the area by around 10:30 or so, and should end by morning. If you're looking ahead to the weekend it should be dry and cooler.

More Rain Later Tonight

After a few sctd showers this afternoon we'll see a break from the wet weather this evening...but more rain arrives later tonight! Check out the latest image from our ESP:Live radar...showers north of the QC for now but the rain west of Des Moines will reach us late tonight. Things dry out Friday and the weekend looks cool!

Heavy Rain in the Forecast

Our chance for rain begins Wednesday night and goes up quite a bit Thursday/Thursday night/early Friday! There cold be a few t-storms embedded within the rain, but our severe weather chance remains pretty low. However, we do have a chance for some healthy rain totals, especially north of the Quad Cities. Here's a 2 day rain product from the NWS HPC, note the heaviest amounts just north of the Quad Cities...where some area could see more than 2 inches of rain!

Solar Flare on April 16th

NASA satellites observed a solar flare on Monday of this week (4/16) and the eruption occurred at 1:45pm Eastern Time. Even though the video shows a dramatic explosion, the earth is not at risk, since the coronal mass ejection went in the other direction. The flare registered in the middle of the intensity scale ( M1.7 class). NASA is watching the sun as it is in an active 11 year period, with a peak in activity expected in 2013.

River Bandits Forecast Tuesday Night

It looks like another great night at Modern Woodmen Park! And they have a ton of great deals this week too, have fun!

15,000 records in March

The National Weather Service reports that over 15,000 records were broken in the month of March. This includes record high temperatures and record high low temperatures. We have talked about some of these record breaking stretches in previous posts. The video linked with this post was made by National Climatic Data Center and visually shows a sweep of record high temps for the month, record high low temps for the month and finally a visual depiction of how many records were broken per area. Find where you live and watch watch the records in your area.

Fake Hail Picture?

You might have seen this picture of an extremely large piece of hail this weekend in Wichita, KS. Only problem is - it's more than likely NOT hail! Here's a link to a great blog article from a meteorologist in North Carolina talking about it...check it out, it's a great read!

http://wxbrad.com/anatomy-of-a-fake-hail-picture/

Wind Advisory for the Quad Cities...

The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory from now until 3PM this afternoon for the counties shaded in yellow. Winds will be sustained out of the West from 30-40 mph for much of the afternoon with winds gusting to near 50mph.

A Windy Monday Morning in the QC....

Winds this morning have been sustained out of the Southwest from 15-30 mph. But, winds have been gusting to over 40 mph in some neighborhoods at times.
Here are the wind speeds and wind gusts as of 730am Monday morning.

Sunday Night Tornado Watch

Here in the Quad Cities we've lucked out so far Sunday after our rough Saturday night! While we've seen a few t-showers today nothing has been close to being severe. There are some strong t-storms passing thru portions of Henderson and Warren counties in Illinois right now...




But look at the tornado watches in effect, they're surrounding the Quad Cities! (But not here!)

Rain Totals Saturday Night

Here's a small sampling of rain totals from Sat night storms...and a nice pic from Taylor Ridge, IL! (Good looking rain gauge!)

Taylor Ridge, IL 3.10
Mt Carroll, IL 2.40
Bettendorf, IA 1.94
Clinton, IA 1.50
Moline, IL 0.91

Severe Weather Outlook for Sunday...

The Storm Predicition Center has now included part of the QCA in a Moderate Risk for severe weather on your Sunday (areas shaded in red). The main threats will be strong winds, hail, and potentially a few tornadoes. '

We will start our Sunday with cloudy skies, the chance for severe weather will increase during the late afternoon and evening hours.

We'll keep you posted all day online at CBS4QC.com and on Twitter and Facebook. Just follow the links on the Weather Blog!

Severe Storm Reports....

UPDATE 1130 PM



A total of 112 tornadoes have been reported to the National Weather Service so far this Saturday. Many areas are still under tornado watches and tornado warnings in the Central U.S.

We'll keep you posted!

PREVIOUS POST....



As of 7 pm Saturday night, here are the storm reports for the Central Plains and Western Iowa for this afternoon's storms. So far there have been 35 tornado reports and 75 reports of hail.

So when you include the wind damage and wind gust reports the total number of storm reports so far is 137 and unfortunately it doesn't appear we are done yet!

Severe Weather Update....

UPDATE ON SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK AT 8PM

The Storm Prediction Center has extended it's moderate outlook a little futher eastward into Central Iowa and the Slight Risk area has extend futher into North Central Illinois. A line of strong storms will be moving into the Quad Cities in the next 2-3 hours and they could be capable of producing strong straight line winds.

We'll keep you updated at CBS4 online and on TV!



PREVIOUS POST.....




A strong storm system is moving through Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Northern Texas this afternoon. That same storm system will be slowly pushing into our region providing us with a chance for some strong to severe storms tonight and for your Sunday.

So the Storm Prediction Center still has us under a slight risk (areas shaded in yellow) for severe weather today and tomorrow.

The strongest storms will remain to our West in the Central Plains (areas shaded in red and orange). But, we still have the possibility of getting some strong to severe storms that could be capable of producing large hail and strong winds both tonight and tomorrow evening.

Right now, it looks like the Quad Cities could experience some stronger storms later this evening, but before the midnight hour.

After a break during the overnight and early morning hours of your Sunday, the chance for some strong to severe storms will return Sunday afternoon into Sunday night.



Keep it tuned to CBS4 online and on TV, we'll keep you updated on any changes!

Heavy Rain Threat Over the Weekend

This is a rain forecast from Sat 7pm thru Sunday at 7pm...from the NWS HPC branch.


Not only do we have the chance for svr t-storms this weekend, there could also be some decent rain totals! The rain won't necessarily be a bad thing, we've had well under 2 inches since the beginning of March! This weekend parts of the area could see close to 2 inches of rain, if the couple rounds of thunderstorms materialize as expected!

Severe Storms on Saturday?

3pm Update: The SPC has now expanded (see map above) the HIGH RISK area to include portions of Western Iowa and Nebraska! It's looking ore and more like a major severe weather/tornado outbreak will occur on Saturday. The threa remains SLIGHT for the Quad Cities, and our best chance for svr weather will be later Saturday night!

The Storm Prediction still has the Quad Cities under a slight risk for strong to severe storms. If storms do become severe the main threat will be large hail and strong winds. We'll keep you posted throughout the day and tomorrow.

Andy's New Facebook Page

Sign up and "Like" my new Facebook page! You can find it here and I'll give away some free stuff this spring! When severe weather threatens you'll be glad you did!

https://www.facebook.com/AndyMcCrayWhbfTv

Follow on the Twitter also:

@andymccray_whbf

A Wet, Stormy Weekend?

After a lot of sunshine this workweek things will end on a much different note! Starting Friday and lasting thru Sunday we'll see the chance (a good chance too) of showers and t-storms.


Weather Set-Up: Not one but 2 different cold fronts will approach from the West. The 1st one slides off to the North so it will not have a big effect on our temps. The 2nd one rolls thru Saturday/Sunday and will eventually drop the temps early next week...each front will give us a decent chance for showers/storms.


Severe Weather: It's possible, especially Saturday. Here's the outlook from the SPC:




Rain Totals: they could be heavy, some places will end up with close to 2 inches of rain. Remember, since March 1st we've only picked up about 1.65" of rain in the QC! Here's a 5 day rain total forecast from the HPC.

Meteor Wednesday Night (Shooting Star April 11th)

I'm now hearing many reports of a large meteor across the sky earlier tonight! Some reports suggest it had a greenish tint and lasted for up to 12 seconds! So far it sounds like people in 5 states saw the meteor, including Iowa and Illinois! More news can be found here:
http://thelatestworldwidemeteorreports.blogspot.com/


And here:

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/04/11/stargazers-spot-meteor-streaking-across-chicago-area-skies/

A Cold Night...Then Rainy Weekend

With temperatures expected to drop into the upper 20s for a lot of us tonight another FREEZE WARNING has been issued! Some good news - it will warm up this weekend. The bad news - there's a very good chance for rain this weekend also, with some totals up around 2 or 3 inches from Friday thru Sunday! (5 day rain forecast from the HPC below)

Freeze Warnings Again

The National Weather Service has once again issued a Freeze Warning for our entire viewing area for Wednesday night/ Thursday morning. The Warning begins at 11pm tonight and expires at 8am Thursday. The winds will be light during the overnight hours, allowing for the formation of frost in some sheltered areas.

Once again, these cold temperatures can kill sensitive plants, crops and fruit trees. Please use preventative techniques to keep your plants alive as the temperatures drop tonight.

A Day at the Office

Just another day of work for these window washers! This pic was taken around lunchtime today, the guys are cleaning the windows on the US Bank building in downtown Rock Island...notice the jackets? Temps were still in the upper 40s at this time!