Weather in June: A Look Back

We are closing out the month of June on a quiet, cool note.  But, as you know it's been an overall active month, with high winds, tornadoes, heat and flooding.

A few temperature stats:  Highest maximum temperature: 92° on 6/12
                                              Lowest maximum temperature: 63° on 6/02
                                              Lowest minimum temperature: 46° on 6/02
                                              Highest minimum temperature:  71° on 6/22

As far as rain goes, we began the month on a rather dry note, but Mother Nature saved it all for the end.  For the month of June we saw 6.14 inches of rain, which is 1.80 inches above normal.  Get this, 4.34 inches of the total months rainfall feel in just the last 7 days!  Speaking of the rain, flash flooding took place in many areas, and the rain caused area rivers such as the Wapsipinicon, Mississippi and Rock to once again flow out of their banks.

It was also an active severe weather month.  On June 12th, an EF-2 (135mph winds) tornado touched down around Savanna, IL causing several tree and structural damage and even took a house off its foundation, injuring one person.  I saw the damage first hand, and it was like something you'd see out of a movie.  Also that day, an EF-0 tornado touched down just south of Hanover, IL.
June 24th was quite active, with severe weather affecting virtually the entire CBS4 viewing area.  We had 4 confirmed tornadoes.  An EF-1 tornado with winds of 110mph touched down in Muscatine, killing one man working inside Krieger Collision Center in Muscatine.  It also did damage to a local church as well as several trees.  A pair of EF-1's touched down in the Atkinson, IL area (Henry Co., IL) with winds of 100mph.  And finally, a tornado (details pending) touched down about 6 miles north of Van Orin, IL in Bureau County.  We also had several reports of 60-80mph wind gusts from the bowing line of storms that moved through on the 24th.

Fortunately July looks to start of quiet, and temperatures are going to remain below average for much of the first week.

Have a great week!
-Meteorologist Kyle Kiel

Area Rivers Once Again Cresting

What a wild week of weather we had from the heat and humidity, to flash flooding, to tornadoes!  With all the heavy rain we saw, rivers have once again been on the rise.

The Mighty Mississippi has moved the location of "Red White and Boom" this year.  The Mississippi here in the Quad Cities is expected to crest some time on Sunday at 18.10 feet, which is major flooding.

The Wapsipinicon River near DeWitt is also experiencing major flooding with a crest Sunday at 13.4 feet.

Finally, the Rock River in Moline (and Joslin) will be experiencing moderate flooding with a crest of 13.2 feet on Monday in Moline, and 14.8 feet in Joslin on Sunday.

The Mississippi at Clinton and Burlington are also experiencing flooding, as well as several other rivers surrounding the area.  For more on that, click HERE.

We'll take a look back at June in Sunday's blog!

Cool Weather Ends June & Starts July

Even with the recent heat and humidity, June 2013 temperatures are running about a degree below average.  While highs Thursday will be around 90° in the Quad Cities, a cool down this weekend will pretty much guarantee that this month will stay cooler than average.

Scattered showers are in the forecast Friday and Saturday and with the clouds and rain Saturday, highs are likely to stay in the 70s with lows in the 50s.  Sunday will see similar highs and lows.

That will be a cool end to the month of June, but we saw an even cooler high temperature on the last day of June 2009, when it only reached 69°!

Will we see any relief from the chill as we start the new month?  In early July, the average highs and lows are around 86° and 65°.

 NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is forecasting temperatures to be below average for the first six days of July for much of the middle part of the country.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Quad Cities Rain in the Year 2013

Can you believe last year we were in a major drought?!?!  It's amazing to see the exact opposite this year!  Here are some numbers for the Quad Cities - we've had more rain in less than 6 months this year than we did ALL OF LAST YEAR! 

And it's been pretty consistent for most of the year too...here are the monthly totals for 2013.

Jan. - 2.86"
Feb. - 2.54"
Mar. - 2.57"
Apr. - 7.21"
May - 7.97"
Jun. - 5.40"

June had been off to a dry start until this week happened!  Of the 5.40" rain in June about 80% of that has fallen just over the last 48-72 hours!  Hopefully we can turn this trend around soon and let things dry out a little bit, and we could do without severe storms for a while now too!  We've had at least 7 tornadoes in the Quad Cities area over the last month or so! 

And just in case you're wondering - the record for rainfall in one year in the Quad cities comes from 1973with 56.36" of rain! 

Cooler Weather in the Forecast

While we wait for tonight's thunderstorms to develop, and that should happen in the next few hours, I've been looking ahead to the weather for this upcoming weekend...and it definitely looks cooler and less humid!  Tuesday was very muggy with highs in the upper 80s and dew points way up in the 70s!  That made it feel like it was in the middle 90s late this afternoon. 

There is some relief from the heat heading this way though...by this weekend our highs will be in the lower 80s with a significant drop in the humidity coming also!  And from the looks of it the cooldown should last for several days from late this week into a good portion of next week!  In other words, if you're not a big fan of the heat you'll be glad to know it won't last all summer long (like it did last year!)

Here's a temp anomaly forecast for days 6-10 from the Climate Prediction Center - notice the cooler than average weather likely for the Quad Cities!

Severe Storm and Flash Flooding Update

As I get ready for Ten at 10 on CBS4 here's a quick update on what was a very stormy day around the Quad Cities...as of 9:30 pm Monday night there are about 30,000 people, most in Illinois, still without power!  Widespread wind damage to trees and power lines being the culprit.  Here are some of the storm reports from this afternoon and evening, notice 5 tornadoes reported in our area! 

.
And it was just earlier this morning we saw widespread FLASH FLOODING!  In the Quad Cities we picked up almost 4.5 inches of rain!  The normal for the entire month of June is only 4.49"!  In other words, in Moline (the official climate spot for the Quad Cities) we just about picked up a month's worth of rain in one day!

Heavy Rains Produce Flash Flooding

Intense thunderstorms sitting over the same area early Monday morning have produced some incredible rainfall totals.

These totals are from around midnight through 9:20 a.m.

That 4.12" of rain in Moline, Illinois, is from the Quad City International Airport.

What's interesting about the total is from June 13-23, 2013, only .04" of rain fell at the airport.

Today's rain now brings the Quad Cities yearly precipitation total to 28.21", which is around 10.80" above normal.

More thunderstorms are likely later Monday.

Be safe.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Lightning Safety Awareness Week

Today is the first day of Lightning Safety Awareness Week, which runs through Saturday, June 29th.

Lightning is one of the top 3 causes of weather related death in the United States each year.  From the year 1997 to 2011, Illinois saw 819,717 strikes of lightning.  In those same 14 years, Iowa saw an average of 645,685 lightning strikes per year.  Some of those years had over 1 million bolts of lightning!

The National Weather Service's hope is to help keep you safe during thunderstorms.

Here are a few tips:

• No place outside is safe during a thunderstorm
• "When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors"  A rule of thumb: when you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you or an object close to you
• Wait at least a half hour after the last rumble of thunder you hear before heading back outside to decrease the likeliness of lightning striking
• Stay away from tall objects such as a tree and do not go near power lines
• If you are inside, try to shy away from using electrical equipment during thunderstorm, as lightning can strike and carry the charge through a power cord
• People can be a lightning target on flat land such as a gulf course, where they are sometimes the tallest standing object

The National Weather Service goes much more in depth with lightning and lightning safety.  Check out their safety awareness page by clicking HERE,

And always remember:

Quad City Wolfpack

Most people in the Quad Cities don't think of summer as football season - but it is just that for the Quad City Wolfpack!  The semi-pro football team has a bunch of local players on the roster and they'll be suiting up this weekend for a home game.  They play at Ericson Field on Augustana's campus and this Saturday is Kids' Day!  Click Here for the schedule for this year...and you can check out a story our own Jay Kidwell did on the squad this week at CBS4! 

Click Here for Jay's Story

Remember, if you're heading out for the game this weekend plan on a warm summer night in the Quad Cities!

Baked Alaska

While temperatures across Iowa and Illinois will be consistently warm to hot today through next week, in the 80s to near 90°, Alaska is baking in a heat wave.

Beaches are popular as record heat hit the capital city of Anchorage Tuesday with a high of 81°.

The Associated Press reports that "all-time highs were recorded elsewhere, including 96° on Monday 80 miles to the north in the small community of Talkeetna, purported to be the inspiration for the town in the TV series, Northern Exposure and the last stop for climbers heading to Mount McKinley, North America's tallest mountain. One unofficial reading taken at a lodge near Talkeetna even measured 98°, which would tie the highest undisputed temperature recorded in Alaska."

Jeff Masters, the meteorology director for the online weather service, "Weather Underground", states that "this is the hottest heat wave in Alaska since '69. You're way, way from normal."

In other parts of Alaska, flooding is possible at higher elevations from the melting snow and ice from the late season snowstorms in May.

And, the Alaska Division of Forestry reports that a wildfire east of Fairbanks has already consumed more than 120 acres earlier this week.  A "Red Flag Warning" for low humidity and fire dangers remains in effect through Thursday night in western Alaska.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Heat Could Bring Back-to-Back 90° Highs

High temperatures have hit the 90-degree-mark or higher twice this year.  This happened once in May and once in June.

The heat will be building over the next few days and from Friday into the weekend and early next week, highs in the upper-80s to around 90° are possible.

If we were to reach 90° or higher on back-to-back days during this stretch, this would be the first time since September 3-4, 2012, when we hit 92° and 93°, respectively.

Looking back over the past few years, the first occurrence of back-to-back 90° or higher days happened in May in 2010, 2011, and 2012.

In 2011, that was on May 10th and 11th.  It was on May 23rd and 24th in 2010, and on May 26th and 27th in 2012.

However, it was even later than right now back in 2009.  It wasn't until June 22nd-25th that we had successive days of 90° or higher temperatures and once the heat did arrive, we made it to four consecutive days.

Of course, clouds and thunderstorms will play a big role this weekend in achieving back-to-back 90° highs and we'll continue monitoring the daily chance of showers and thunderstorms that are possible, along with a sun and cloud mix.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Tornado at the Denver Airport

Imagine waiting for a flight and looking out the window...and seeing a tornado just outside the airport!  That was the case today at Denver Int'l Airport!  Thousands of people found shelter in bathrooms and other designated safe places in the airport while a tornado crossed some of the runways outside.  No major damage was reported, thankfully. 

http://youtu.be/dQJEoxn5p-w 
This link is to a video of the funnel before it touched down by the airport. 


And here's an image of storm reports from the NWS SPC showing the tornado report at the Denver Int'l Airport.  Before weather sensors went out as the tornado moved by they did measure a wind speed of 97 mph from the tornado!

And finally a link to all storm reports from the Storm Prediction Center...click here.

It's Beginning To Get Dry Again

It may come as a surprise to you since we've already picked up 24.07" of precipitation, so far, this year in the Quad Cities that it's starting to dry out. 

Late last week we had some heavy rain to the north of the metro area with the severe thunderstorms that brought the tornadoes and Saturday there were some strong thunderstorms and heavy downpours to the south of the Quad Cities.

However, over the past eleven days, from June 7-17, 2013, we've only received 0.25" of rain at the Quad City International Airport in Moline, Illinois.  While we've had several seven, eight, and nine-day stretches this year with less than one-quarter of an inch of rain (or melted snow), there have have only been three other stretches that lasted longer than the one we're having now.

From January 11-26, 2013, (sixteen days), we only picked up 0.12" of precipitation in the Quad Cities.  Between March 12-23, 2013, (twelve days), 0.20" of precipitation was recorded.  And, from March 25-April 7, 2013 (fourteen days), only 0.03" of rain fell.

Scattered showers are possible today and beginning Thursday through early next week, we'll see a daily chance of showers and thunderstorms.

NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is predicting above average rainfall through July 1, 2013.  That seems reasonable because with all of the heat and humidity building across the Midwest, any showers and thunderstorms that do develop can easily drop heavy amounts of rain.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Cool June Begins To Heat Up

June 2013 temperatures in the Quad Cities are still running 2.7° below average with 10 of the first 16 days of the month experiencing below average temperatures.

That chill should not come as a surprise since we've had three days with high temperatures in the 60s and seven days with highs in the 70s.  Of the remaining six days, five were in the 80s and one (June 12th) was in the 90s, at 92°.

Monday is going to be a very warm one with highs well into the 80s before we cool off to around 80° Tuesday and Wednesday.  If you like warm to hot weather, you'll love the forecast for Thursday through the weekend.  Highs will be in the 85°-90° range.

Here is the temperature forecast from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.  It shows that it will be warmer than average for the eastern half of the country from June 22-26, 2013.

Have a great week!

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Weather of Father's Day Past

I hope all the dads out there had a great Father's Day!  Temperatures reached the lower to mid 80s with plenty of sunshine!

I decided to look up some Father's Day weather data from previous years.  In the last 139 years, 28 had temperatures between 90° and 96°; 62 days with 80° to 89°; 44 days with 70° to 79°; 3 days with 60° to 69°; and 2 days with 50° to 59°.

The warmest Father's Day occurred on June 16th, 1918 when the high temperature was 98°!  The coolest high temperature was on June 18th, 1876 with a temperature of 54°.  The coldest Father's Day morning occurred on June 21st, 1991 with a low of 43°.

While we lucked out this year and had no rain, it rained 2.16" on June 18th, 1950, making that year the wettest on record!

Have a great workweek, everyone!

Ground Zero of Wednesday's EF-2 Tornado

Hey everyone!  Meteorologist Kyle Kiel here. 

Wednesday was an active day for areas north of the Quad Cities, where severe severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings occurred.  Andy, Anthony and I spent much of the afternoon and evening tracking these storms and reports from them.

A couple of reports came in from trained spotters that a "large tornado" was on the ground in Carroll County between Savanna and Mount Carroll.  I also read a report from one of the forecasters at the National Weather Service that there was a debris signature on the dual polarization radar (sorry to get all fancy on you).  Basically, this means that the radar was picking up non-meteorological phenomenon.  We had also heard of a house destroyed and one man taken to the hospital.

Andy and I decided it would be a good idea for me to go cover the aftermath on Thursday, so I met up with the head of the National Weather Service Thursday morning to find out where they would be surveying.  While I was not able to follow them, she agreed to meet up with me and talk about what she saw.

So, I headed up there a little before them just to take a look at the damage myself.  My first stop was Mount Carroll, IL, at a gas station where the kind attendant told me where to find the damage.  It was crazy.  There were a line of several trees down, and just a few hundred feet away a house that was untouched.

The locals were very kind and pointed me in the direction of a destroyed home.  I arrived at the scene and could not believe my eyes.  The house was completely torn off the foundation.  The man was taken to the hospital but is remarkably okay.  We respected his wished not to shoot any footage of the house.  Just a couple hundred feet away there were barns that appeared untouched.

I was also able to feature a family who witnessed the tornado, and you can watch that story here: Savanna Tornado

Thanks to Wendy Popkin for sending this photo of what was the rooftop of Terry Kosher's garage, and for allowing me to spend the day with their family.

Tornado Survey

Meteorologists from the National Weather Service toured storm damage today in Jo Daviess and Carroll counties in Illinois.  As expected, they confirmed damage from multiple tornadoes on Wednesday, June 12th!  The strongest tornado packed winds of 135 mph, and rated as a high end EF2 tornado! 

Here's a link to the full report from the NWS... Click here

And thanks to James Westerman for this picture of one of the tornadoes!
 

Heat Burst in Nebraska!

Ever heard of a heat burst?  They're rare, but from time to time they do happen...and sometimes they happen not too far away from the Quad Cities!  Take Tuesday morning for example - several towns in Nebraska went from the low 70s early this morning all the way up to near 100° by 7/8am! 

So what the heck happened?  When a decaying t-storm drops some rain into a dry layer of air the rain evaporates as it falls...this evaporation cools the air around it which also makes the air more dense than the surrounding air.  That more dense air starts falling toward the ground and once all of the precip has evaporated there's no more cooling.  At this point in time the descending air starts drying out and WARMING UP!   At times the momentum of this falling parcel of air carries it all the way to the ground, leaving plenty of time for it to warm up! 

Here's a link to a story from the NWS office in Hastings, NE, with temp spikes included!  Can you imagine heading out early in the morning to temps near 100°? 

Click Here for story

Cool June Heats Up

This June is off to a cool start, but that will be changing today and tomorrow.

June temperatures in the Quad Cities are running 5.7° below average and we haven't even officially hit 80° yet.  However, that will occur today and tomorrow as a warm front moves through pushing highs well into the 80s and close to 90° in our southern hometowns later Tuesday.

Yesterday's 78° high at the Quad City International Airport, in Moline, Illinois, was the warmest reading this June.  Looking at the first eleven days in the past five Junes, in 2008, we had already reached the 80-degree mark or higher nine of the eleven days.

However, in 2009, we had only reached 80° or higher in just three of the first eleven days.

From 2010-2012, the average was seven of the eleven days with highs at or above the 80-degree mark.  As a matter of fact, in 2011, of the seven days of 80° or higher in the first eleven days, four of those days were 90° or higher!

In the Quad Cities, we've only hit the 80-degree mark 13 times in 2013.  The warmest day was 90° on May 14th.

After today and tomorrow's warmth, temperatures for the rest of the week will be closer to average.  Here is NOAA's Climate Prediction Center's temperature forecast for June 18-24, 2013.

Outside that dome of heat across the central and southern Plains, we may have to deal with several periods of strong to severe thunderstorms that may also bring heavy rain.

Have a great day!


CBS4 meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Strong T'Storms this Week?

After some relatively dry weather recently in the Quad Cities the chance for showers/t'storms is back this week!  While rain totals should not be overly impressive strong winds could prove to be a big problem!  Warm and dry weather will be locked in place across the Southeastern U.S. and in the Quad Cities we'll find our selves right on the edge of this heat dome.  Our temps will climb above normal (into the mid 80s) and we'll run the risk of strong t-storms forming along the edge of this hot weather. 

You might have heard "ring of fire" this week and what that means is around the periphery of the high pressure anchored in the SE you find active t-storms that sometimes provide strong and damaging winds.  Check out this surface map from the NWS WPC and note the high pressure in the SE and the warm front draped across the Quad Cities...

And here are the severe weather risks from the Storm Prediciton center for this week, again our biggest threats will come from damaging winds if we see any severe weather! 


Tuesday (especially late at night)

Wednesday (evening t-storms possible)

Deadly Floods Affect Europe

Living along rivers such as the Mississippi, Rock and Cedar River, many of us have seen our fair share of flooding.  While we have been having flood problems of our own, the situation is much worse in Europe.

At least 21 people have been killed by the flooding along river such as Danube, Vlatava, and Elbe.  The region has been pummeled with heavy rainfall for the last week or so, and led to the bursting of a dam along the Elbe River in Germany!

Over 8,000 volunteers, including soldiers, have come together to help fill and place upwards of one million sandbags!

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes.  Here is the full story from CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57588399/at-least-21-killed-by-floods-in-central-europe/

Back home, rivers are slowly going back into their banks.  The Mississippi River in Rock Island is expected to be back below flood stage by Wednesday.

The Mississippi River in Burlington is still experiencing major flood stage, which is not good news for Steam Boat Days this weekend.

 

Have a great week!

 

This Week's Deal

Does our recent cloudy weather or anything else have you down?  Feel like a day at the spa?  Don't want to spend too much money?  Quad Cities Deals has just the thing for you!  this week's deal is from Spa Luce in Davenport...and you can get $40 worth of treatment for just 20 bucks!  Here's the fine print for this week's deal:


Spa Lucé is located in the hip and historic Hotel Blackhawk and boasts an upscale urban atmosphere with an indulgent menu of pampering services. Visit us today in downtown Davenport. Enjoy a facial, massage, manicure, pedicure, or any of our other spa services.

Voucher good through: 09/30/2013

there are still some other great deals available too at Quad Cities Deals

Warmer Weather in the Quad Cities...Eventually!

It's gotta warm up sometime soon, right?  The average temperature so far this June is way below normal and we have a few more below average days coming up!  Several factors are leading to the relatively cool weather, including an abundance of clouds lately!  Check out this plot of forecasted temps over the next 7 days.  There are a couple things worth pointing out:

1.  Notice the slow, but general warming trend thru the next 7 days.  We should be closer to normal next week!
2.  Look at the forecast early on in this period, namely today.  The observed temps show up as black dots, notice how this afternoon the black dots are below all of the model guidance?  That's because the clouds stuck around for basically all of the day, a few times we tried to clear things out but overall the clouds came out on top today!

Also, check out this forecast from the NWS CPC.  It shows some warmth building in the south/southwest 8-14 days from now.  Eventually we'll warm up but it definitely won't be a repeat of the heat wave from last summer!  Last June by the way, we had an average high of 84.5°.  This June's average high so far has been about 70°! 

"Ring Of Fire"

June kicked off "meteorological summer", the three warmest months of the year (June, July, and August), but it sure doesn't feel like summer across the Mississippi and Illinois Valleys.

After the first five days of the month, temperatures are running more than six degrees below average with the average June temperature at 61.3°.  Here's a little trivia for you:  the coolest June on record in the Quad Cities was back in 1916 at 65.8°.

While cooler than average temperatures in the 70s will hold through Sunday, much warmer weather is on the way next week. 

Here is a plot of temperatures over the next ten days.

Where you see the purple and red colors, that is where intense heat will be building across the middle part of the U.S. and the Southwest.  High temperatures this upcoming weekend and early next week will top 100° in parts of west Texas and 90s will be likely in the Plains.

Meteorologists call this the "ring of fire".  That big bubble of heat will be close to the Midwest.  If it moves into our area, the forecast highs in the low-to-mid-80s next week will have to be bumped up.  On the other hand, if it stays in the Plains, we could be on the outside of that "ring of fire" and have several rounds of thunderstorms that could produce heavy rain, which will cool down the temperatures.

This is definitely something to watch for next week.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and this weekend!


CBS4 meteorologist Anthony Peoples

1st Tropical Storm of the Season!

Hurricane season is about 5 days old in the Atlantic basin now...and our first storm of the season is about 2 hours old now!  As of late this afternoon Tropical Storm Andrea has formed!  The storm has winds of 40 mph (barely a tropical storm) and will drop very heavy rain over the next 48 hours in portions of Florida.  The storm will then move up the East Coast and spread heavy rain to portions of several states over the next 5 days or so.  Here's a map from the National Hurricane Center showing the forecast for Andrea...

Cool Temps Here to Stay

Monday was about 10° cooler than normal and it looks like we have many more cool days coming up!  The normal high right now is 79° and climbs to 81° over the next week.  Check out this plot though...

Highs will range from the upper 60s to the mid 70s through the next 7 days, at least!  There are some indications we could stay cool for at least the next 10 days!  Remember last summer?  It was dry and HOT just about all summer long...so far that's not the case this year!

Recent Rains Affecting Area Rivers

May was a wet one for the Quad Cities.  The airport in Moline measured 7.97" inches of rain for the month, making it the 8th wettest May on record.  June has been off to a dry, cool start, but area rivers are still feeling the brunt of the recent rains.

The Mississippi River at Burlington, IA is experiencing major flooding, and is forecast to stay at major flood stage through at least the next 7 days.  The crest is forecast to crest at 20.6 feet by the middle of the week, as seen on this hydrograph from the North Central River Forecast Center.  Burlington had their 2nd wettest May on record, measuring 11.50 inches...6.50 inches above average!

Moderate flooding is forecast to occur on the 'Mighty Miss' in Rock Island, cresting sometime Wednesday at 17.10 feet, and is also expected to stay above Flood Stage through at least next weekend.                              

We also can't forget about the smaller rivers in the area.  The Iowa River near Wapello is experiencing major flooding and will crest at 27 feet sometime Monday.

The Cedar, Wapsipinicon, and Skunk River are other area rivers expecting a crest in the early to mid portions of the week.  You can check their river levels, as well as any others, by clicking HERE.

Thanks for checking out the blog!
-Meteorologist Kyle Kiel