Two Snow Systems Coming In This Weekend

Two weather systems will be bringing snow to Illinois and Iowa through Sunday night.

The first will arrive tonight and it will bring only light snow with most locations picking up one inch or less.

After some morning sunshine Saturday, snow re-develops in the afternoon with a stronger system.  That snow will continue into Sunday and it's this event that will bring the more significant snow totals.

Here is how much snow will fall across the Mississippi and Illinois Valleys from Friday night through Sunday night.  This DOES include the light snow that accumulates Friday night!

As of Friday morning, there are no winter advisories, watches, or warnings issued for this weekend's snow.  However, later today, I'm sure a "Winter Weather Advisory" will be issued for the Saturday and Sunday snow event, at least.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

More Snow on the Way Into The Weekend

Record or near record cold temperatures tonight will be replaced tomorrow and this weekend with more snow across the Mississippi and Illinois Valleys.

This morning, it was one degree above zero in the Quad Cities.  If we drop below zero before midnight Thursday, that will be the 31st day this winter below zero in the metro area.  With Friday morning temperatures expected to be below zero, that would be #32!

The record low for Friday is -9° and the forecast is for lows to drop to around -7°.

Now, let's talk snow because we have three days of it coming up.

A system dropping in Friday afternoon and Friday night will bring 1-2" of snow across most of the area.  Northern and northwestern hometowns could see up to 3".

We get a break from the snow Saturday morning, but snow re-develops Saturday afternoon into Sunday night.

Several more inches of snow will fall Saturday and Sunday on top of what accumulates Friday!

By later today and Friday morning, we'll be able to fine tune the weekend forecast and be more specific with the snow projections.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Another Below Zero Morning

We woke up to another bitterly cold morning Wednesday with low temperatures below zero and wind chills in the -15° to -25° range.

This morning's low marked the 30th time this winter that we've dropped below zero in the Quad Cities.

We could be adding another below zero reading to that tonight and tomorrow night will definitely be below zero.

If the cold weather wasn't bad enough for some of you, more snow is on the way.  We could see a few inches Friday and Friday night and several more inches are likely Saturday into Monday.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Cold Week Followed By Snowy Weekend?

We picked up a little snow overnight and now we have to deal with very cold temperatures over the next two weeks.

That is the scenic view of the Mississippi River early Tuesday morning.

A series of weather disturbances beginning on Friday through early next week will bring us several periods of light snow that will begin to add up.

We'll be monitoring this through the rest of this week and keep you updated.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Light Snow Likely Tonight

Unseasonably cold temperatures will dominate our weather this week into the first week of March.  Average high temperatures are around 40° this week and we'll only see highs in the teens!

Along with that, a little light snow is on the way tonight.

While this will add to our winter total of 54.3" of snow, it won't change our 5th snowiest winter ranking.

To reach #4, we have to get up to 59.1".

More light snow or flurries is possible Friday and a better chance of an accumulating snow will arrive next Sunday and Monday.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Temperatures Taking Another Dive

It has been quite the winter here in the Quad Cities --- below average temperatures and above average snowfall.  We managed to reach 40°+ three times within the last week, and now it could be a while before we see any temperatures above freezing.

Wednesday morning's below zero temperature will be the 30th day since December 1st that we have had a temperatures dip below 0°.  An average winter in the Quad Cities will see 11 days below zero!  The record for most days below zero in a single winter goes to 1977-1978 with 43 days below zero.

For warmer thoughts, let's talk about some positives.  Day-to-day we are adding a few minutes of sunlight.  March 1st (6days from now) begins "Meteorological Spring," and actual spring is just a little over 23 days away.  Lastly, Daylight Saving Time begins in just 2 weeks, which means an extra of sunlight and an extra hour of sleep!

As you can see from the 7 day forecast, the first day of Meteorological Spring will be anything but springlike.  In fact, I don't see any signs of a huge pattern change over the next two weeks or so.  Climate Prediction Center has the area well below normal for days 8 through 14.  Cue the "sighs."

3 Records Possible With One Week Left In February

There's one week left in February 2014 and two monthly records are guaranteed and a third is almost certain.

With 21.8" of snow accumulating this month, this will go down in the record books as the snowiest February on record in the Quad Cities.

The 1.29" of rain with the thunderstorms Thursday pushed us up to 2.83" of precipitation for the month.  This now ranks as the 10th wettest February on record.

While we could see some flurries or light snow this weekend and a light accumulating snow Monday, below normal precipitation is forecast for the rest of February across eastern Iowa and northern Illinois.

As of yesterday, the average temperature for February in the Quad Cities was 13.1°, making this the third coldest February on record.

Very cold temperatures, about 15°-20° below average, are forecast through much of next week!

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Heavy Rain Followed By Wind & Snow

It's going to be a crazy day of weather with more showers and thunderstorms, strong winds developing, and rain changing to snow by evening.

The first thunderstorms of 2014 moved through the area overnight and this morning dropping 0.86" of rain in the Quad Cities in Moline, Illinois.

Our next round of showers and thunderstorms will move in this morning through early afternoon.  Another one-half to one inch of rain is possible.  A "Flood Watch" is in effect through this afternoon.

If you're traveling to central and north-central Iowa today, a "Blizzard Warning" is in effect there for anywhere from 3"-12" of wind-blown snow.

Our winds will pick up to around 50 miles-per-hour this evening and the rain will change over to snow.  A "Wind Advisory" will go into effect this evening through tomorrow morning.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Thunderstorms & Blizzard Conditions Thursday

Here in the weather department, we've been very busy this winter talking about snow.  We're now up to 54.3".  The winter of 2013-2014 is now the 5th snowiest on record in the Quad Cities.

More snow melt will take place today through Friday thanks to highs in the 30s and 40s.  Tuesday's high of 49° in the Quad Cities was the warmest daytime temperature is more than two months!

Rain and a few thunderstorms are likely late tonight and Thursday.

Rainfall amounts will generally be in the one-half to one inch range with heavier totals off to the south and east.

However, if you're traveling a few hours to the west and northwest Thursday, heavy snow and high winds will cause blizzard conditions.  The red shaded area in Iowa are under a "Blizzard Warning" from Thursday morning to Friday morning.

Those high winds that will cause the blizzard conditions Thursday will also move into the Quad Cities by evening with the rain changing over to snow.  We could see some light accumulations, especially across the north.

Keep up on the latest forecast with the quickly changing weather Thursday afternoon.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Heavy Snow Monday

Heavy snow is on the way today.

Here is how much snow we're expecting to fall by afternoon.

Before we add in today's snow totals, this is the 10th snowiest winter on record in the Quad Cities with 48.4".  Last year at this time, we had only picked up 10.7" of snow!

Also, this is the 10th snowiest February on record before today's snow at 15.9".

Warmer temperatures are on the way tomorrow.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Monday Storm Update

 Monday 11PM Update
Looking over the latest radar trends and guidance, I see no reason to make any major changes to the forecast.  Still looking like a good chance for some sleet to mix in with snow especially south of the Quad Cities, where temperatures a few miles above the surface will be above freezing.

Original Post
Our next storm system is expected to roll into the area Monday morning, causing some slick road conditions.  The morning commute will become tricky around 8 o'clock for the immediate Quad Cities, and just a little bit earlier off to the west.  A "Winter Weather Advisory" goes into effect at 3am Monday for Jefferson, Johnson and Washington counties [IA], while the rest of us will get in on the advisory starting at 6am.

Earlier in the weekend, we were a little concerned about freezing rain along and south of Interstate 80.  Fortunately, the storm system has been trending southward, meaning more cold air will be filtering into the system which will limit any freezing rain to far southern hometowns.  For those of us who live along and south of Interstate 80, I anticipate starting out with a sleet/snow mix around 8am (a little earlier off to the west).  Once the precip starts falling, it will cool the air just above the surface, changing all precip over to snow by mid morning.  Snowfall could be moderate to heavy at some points, reducing visibility drastically.  Travel will be difficult late morning and early afternoon.

Snow amounts will range 1-3" inches in southern hometowns where there will be a longer period of sleet mixed in.  Again, a little freezing rain is possible (esp. along and south of Hwy 34).  3-5" can be expected in the northern 2/3 of the viewing area, with a few areas picking up more than 5".  Any shift in the track in either direction could change these totals slightly.

Presidents' Day 2014 (Washington's Birthday)

Again, the bulk of the snow should be done by middle to late afternoon (west to east).  Travel may be difficult Monday night, as area road crews work to get the snow cleared off.

Tuesday is shaping up to be a nice day with mostly sunny skies and temperatures near 40°.  We'll keep temperatures near or above 40° through the rest of the week, so some of the snow that is on the ground will melt.  The bad part?  Temperatures will still drop below freezing during the overnight hours, so re-freezing could become and issues, as well as fog.  We'll cross that road when it gets here.

Thanks for checking out the CBS4 Weather Blog!

5th Straight Weekend of Accumulating Snow

Another weekend, another accumulating snow in the Quad Cities.  In fact, as the title of this blog post states, it's the fifth weekend in a row that there has been accumulating snow.  Since December 1st, there has been 11 weekends (including this one).  Get this, 9 out of 11 of them has had accumulating snow!

Here are Saturday snow totals from a few hometowns across the CBS4 viewing area.

The 1.4" at the Quad City International Airport in Moline pushes us in the Top 10 highest snowfalls in recorded history.

We will get a break from the snow on Sunday with partly to mostly sunny skies.  Sunday night into early Monday morning we'll see our next chance for wintry weather.  This will come in the form of snow, freezing rain, rain and sleet for some areas.  Latest trends are taking are system south, putting the northern 2/3 of the area on the colder side of the storm, meaning more snow and less ice.  The southern third of the area will have an area of warm air aloft that could switch precip over to freezing rain or sleet before changing to all snow.

This next storm could have an impact on your Monday morning commute.  Stay with the CBS4 weather team for updates in the next 24 hours.

More Winter Before We Warm Up

We have to deal with two snow events into the weekend and maybe some ice Monday morning before our temperatures soar into the 40s for much of next week!

Generally, 1-4" of snow fell early Friday morning from the Quad Cities southward.  It was a quick moving system with sunshine expected Friday afternoon.

After a very chilly start Saturday morning with lows below zero north to around zero in the Quad Cities, snow is likely during the afternoon and evening.

The snow today and Saturday will definitely push the Quad Cities up higher on the list of snowiest winters on record.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Back Down We Go...

We could not have asked for a better winter day in the Quad Cities Thursday, after the bitter cold we've seen all season long.  Here are the recorded high temperatures from across the area:

Highs Thursday 2/13

A weak cold front rolled through the area Thursday evening, and that has dropped temperatures quickly.  Low temperatures will be in the upper single digits to middle teens across the area.  With light snow light Thursday night and early Friday, temperatures will only recover back to around 20° across the area.  However, there is a warming trend beginning early next week!

The warmup to the lower 40s will cause much of the snow that's on the ground to melt, so we could be talking about some areas of dense fog with the added moisture to the atmosphere.  That will be something that will be monitored closely next week.

More bad news, it looks like after Friday of next week, we'll see a change in the pattern once again, bringing back the cold weather.  Here's the Climate Prediction Center's outlook for days 8-10.  I guess we have to remember we're still in Winter!

As Anthony mentioned Thursday morning, accumulating snow is still on track for Saturday.  We'll keep you updated.

Finally, Some Melting

We saw a few flurries across the north Thursday morning and another system dropping across the Mississippi Valley tonight could bring up to an inch of snow to our southern hometowns.  We could even see some light snow in the Quad Cities.

A more widespread snow event is likely Saturday afternoon and Saturday night.  Early indications are that 1-3" of snow could accumulate.

Meanwhile, we're finally warming up.  Thursday's highs of 35°-40° will be the first above freezing day this February.  Temperatures this month are still running 19.2° below average.

For the winter (December, January, and February), the average temperature has been 13.5°, which is 11 degrees below average.

Temperatures next week look nice.  We'll see several days with highs in the 40s, which will be above average!

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

New Record Low Before A Warming Trend

A new record low temperature was set this morning in the Quad Cities at -22°.  It beats the old record of -15° set back in 1885.

This also marks the 28th time this winter that we've been below zero!

February temperatures are also running 18.6° below average.  The good news is that we're finally going to see a warm-up and by Thursday, we could climb above freezing (32°) for the first time this month!

There could be some light snow tomorrow (less than an inch) and another system Saturday that could bring a little more than that.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Record Cold and Record Book Snow

The Quad Cities officially tied the record low of -16° in Moline this morning.  The old record was established in 1899!

Meanwhile, Davenport saw a low Monday morning of -22° marking the coldest temperature there this winter season.  Moline saw a low of -22° one week ago, back on February 3rd.

Another record setting cold night is expected tonight before a warming trend kicks in Tuesday.  We'll really notice the warmer temperatures by the end of the week with 20s and 30s likely into the weekend and next week!

As for snow, some light snow is expected Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night into Saturday.

For the winter, we're officially up to 45.8" in the Quad Cites.  That makes this the 20th snowiest winter on record.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

More Below Zero Temperatures

It seems like a broken record here in the Quad Cities; we see accumulating snow and then temperatures take a nose dive.  So far this winter season we have has 25 days of below zero temperatures.  The average number of below zero temperatures for a given winter is 11.

We'll tack on at least two more below zero temps this week, one being Sunday night/Monday morning.  Temperatures will dip to near -10°, with wind chills well below zero.  "Wind Chill Advisory" goes through 11AM Monday.

 Another very cold night is in store for Monday night before temperatures begin to moderate by midweek.  The good news? There are 30s in the 7 day forecast.  Check that out anytime at www.whbf.com/weather.

4th Straight Weekend of Snow

 SUNDAY 2/9 UPDATE:  An additional tenth of an inch fell in Moline, making the total 3.1".  Davenport saw two tenths of an inch more of snow, making their total 2.3".

In the Quad Cities, we are now up to 45.8" for the season, making this the 20th snowiest!

ORIGINAL POST:
This weekend marks the fourth straight weekend of accumulating snow on either Saturday or Sunday.  The latest disturbance dropped 1-3"+ of snow across the area.

Massbach (Jo Daviess County) is the highest snow total I have come across.  Some of these snow totals may go up just a bit as another disturbance will make its way through the area later tonight, dropping up to an additional inch of snow for hometowns mainly along and south of Interstate 80.

So where does today's 3.0" put the Quad Cities for snowfall this season?  Season-to-date we have seen 45.7" of snow at the airport in Moline.  This has us rounding out the top 20 snowiest winters on record!  An average winter season has 31.6" of snow accumulation, putting us 14.1" above average (so far) this season.

CBS4 Snow Meter

Here's a new graphic you'll probably see a few more times on CBS4 before it warms up...this weekend we'll get 1-2" of snow, and that gets a snowman rating of 3!  No need to rush out and stock up on milk and bread for this snow! 

Snow is Piling Up

Officially, eight inches of snow is on the ground in the Quad Cities.  And, with our winter total standing at 42.7", the snow is piling up.

As of Friday morning, 67.4% of the country is covered in snow.  One month ago, it was only at 48.1%.

Above is the snow depth plot this morning across the Midwest and the one below is of the country.

As for temperatures, this winter we're running 10.5° below average. 

While December was 6.1° below average, January was even colder at 7.8° below average.  However, those are not even in the ball park for February.  After the first six days this month, the average temperature is only 6.2°, which is 17.7° below average!

More bitter cold is coming in early next week before a warming trend by the middle and end of next week.  However, if this 8-14 day temperature forecast is correct, the warmer readings may not last long.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Snow Totals

Our latest snowstorm brought anywhere from 2-7" of snow to the Mississippi and Illinois Valleys.

Here are some of the totals being reported to us.

That 6.1" total in Moline was through 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Since then, we've added another 0.2" for a grand total of 6.3" from this storm at Quad City International Airport, the official reporting station for the Quad Cities.

That brings us up to 42.7" of snow for the winter.  This is the 27th snowiest winter on record.

What's even more incredible is that we're now only 5.2" of snow away from making the Top Ten!

Some more light snow is expected today and another system could bring snow Saturday.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Winter Storm Now Underway

9:45 PM UPDATE:

There are no significant changes to the forecast tonight but I have made a slight adjustment.  Even though it's looked like it was snowing pretty good well South of the Quad Cities tonight a lot of the snow has not been adding up according to multiple weather watchers down around Galesburg.  So I have removed the 5-7: zone and created a larger area of 3-6" totals, including the Quad cities metro area...

Updated forecast

Previous Post:

The winter storm Anthony blogged about this morning is now here, and so far unfolding as expected!  Snow began this afternoon in the Quad Cities and won't let up 'til well after midnight.  The Quad Cities NWS issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the Quad Cities through Noon Wednesday.  south of the metro snow will be heavier, so it's a Winter Storm Warning down there...

Advisory/Warning

The reason for the difference?  Snow totals will be heavier South of the Quad Cities, falling the range of 5-7 inches with a few isolated heavier totals possible.  In the metro area we're looking at 3-5 inches.  Winds will pick up a bit, so blowing and drifting snow could cause even more problems!

Official CBS4 forecast

Computer model forecast

 If you're wondering why sometimes we have a winter Weather Advisory and sometimes a Winter Storm Warning check out this webcast from me and Anthony and Kyle - Click Here Scroll ahead to the 2:50 mark and you can skip right ahead to the explanation!