Multiple Chances for Rain This Week

We experienced a beautiful spring weekend in the Quad Cities.  Highs on Saturday were in the lower to middle 50s with plenty of sunshine.  After a chilly start in the upper 20s on Sunday, plenty of sunshine and gusty southerly winds aided in warming temperatures into the lower to middle 60s.  Typically this time of year we should be in the middle 50s.

An area of low pressure will be strengthening to our west and head northeast throughout the day on Friday.  Fortunately, we will be on the warm side of the storm with another day of temperatures in the 60s and gusty southerly winds from 15 to 25mph+.  The low pressure will have a cold front that will plow through the area later Monday evening, and that's when we have the best shot of seeing scattered showers/isolated t'storms.  Out ahead of the front during the day, there is also the threat for a few scattered showers.  Rain fall amounts will be a tenth of an inch or less as moisture is limited.

Once the front rolls through, brisk northwest winds will usher in colder temperature for Tuesday.  The cool temperatures will continue through the rest of the week, with highs averaging in the upper 40s.  We get a break from the rain on Tuesday before more chances of rain come in Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  Rain totals could be approaching 1 inch by the end of the week.

Warm End to the Weekend

It was a fine start to the weekend with partly to mostly sunny skies (after an overcast Saturday morning) and temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s.  Average highs this time of year are in the middle 50s, so not too bad for early spring standards.

If you liked the temperatures during the first half of the weekend, you'll love the second half.  After a chilly start near 30° Sunday, we'll see a warmup to the 60s!

High pressure will be off to the east which will bring our winds in warmer winds from the south between 15 and 20 mph, gusting 25 to 30 mph at times.  Humidity will be low so brush fires are a possibility on Sunday.

Looking ahead, Monday temperatures will be in the middle to upper 60s with a chance of showers and even a few thunderstorms ahead of a cold front that will sweep through Monday evening.  This will usher in cooler temperatures for the rest of the week, as well as a few other rain chances.  Unfortunately, I don't see a big warmup in the next week, after Monday.

Cold Today, But A Warming Trend Follows

Spring is officially here, but it sure doesn't look or feel like it across the Mississippi Valley.

The 0.9" of snow that fell in Moline Monday night brings our winter total to 65.1".  That is more than double the snow we see in an average winter!  We're still 4.6" shy of the snowiest winter on record.

While it will be very cold today and tonight with temperatures running about twenty degrees below average for late March, a warming trend in on the way.

We'll see highs well into the 40s and 50s Wednesday through Saturday and highs in the 60s Sunday and Monday!

This will be the first time we've seen back-to-back highs in the 60s since back in mid-October, more than five months ago!

But, it doesn't appear that it's going to last.

The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting below average temperatures for the month of April for Illinois and Iowa.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Where's Spring?

Spring officially began at 11:57am last Thursday, March 20th.  The high temperature that day was 52°, and the first full day of the season featured highs around 62°!  Temperatures Saturday were in the 40s and on Sunday, they were in the 30s!

Sunday's temperature of 34° was 18° below the average high of 52°.  The trend for much of the next week is below average.  By Thursday we creep close to 50, and by the end of next weekend we could be approaching the 60° mark once again.

But before that, a couple bumps.  We have a clipper-type system that is going to track southwest of the Quad Cities, bringing us a shot at some light snow.  The "heavier" snow is going to stay in southwestern hometowns, where an inch to perhaps two inches will fall.  Elsewhere, a half inch to an inch looks like a good bet.  This system isn't as organized as it looked a few days ago, and doesn't have much moisture to work with.

Behind the system?  More cold air.  Lows Monday night into Tuesday will be in the teens and lower 20s, with highs struggling to reach 30° for many areas by Tuesday.

More Chill To Come

While we may see some rain tonight and some light snow Wednesday, highs today, Thursday, and Friday are expected to reach the 50s in the Quad Cities!

This is good news considering that our temperatures have been below average since October 2013.

However, after Friday, we're back into the chilly air again. 

The average highs this time of the year are now above 50° in the metro area and check out these predicted temperatures through the end of March from the Climate Prediction Center.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

A Mild Saturday, Then Snow At Night!

It's hard to believe that with high temperatures Friday in the 50s and highs Saturday near 50° that snow is, once again, in the forecast Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Early indications point to an inch with slightly higher amounts to the north.

But, it should come as no surprise when you think of how snowy its been this winter (62.4" officially in the Quad Cities).

And, it's even more fitting that the snow chances arrive on the weekend.

This winter, we've only had one weekend that a snowflake didn't fall (January 10-12, 2014) and three others featured only a trace of snow.

The Top Five snowiest weekends this winter:

7.8"  January 3-5, 2014

5.5"  December 20-22, 2013

3.9"  January 31-February 2, 2014

3.7"  February 28-March 2, 2014

3.3"  December 13-15, 2013

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Where is the Snow?

The Quad Cities and hometowns to the northwest got cheated out of a decent accumulating snow Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

It took longer for the rain to transition over to snow and once it started snowing, the precipitation shield was already heading out of the metro area.

Officially, 0.2" of snow fell at the airport in Moline.  That brings us up to 62.4" for the winter of 2013-2014.

Look at how close the cut-off line was at 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.

Snowfall amounts to the south and east of the Quad Cities were in the 1-3" range.  Chicagoland snow totals are around 2-7".

Flurries are possible today and tonight, but no accumulation is expected.

Highs in the 40s return tomorrow and we'll be in the 50s Friday!

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Another Winter Storm On The Way

A late winter storm is on the way tonight and early Wednesday and threatens eastern Iowa and the northern half of Illinois with snow.

After an official high of 58° Monday, highs today should make it into the upper-40s to help melt away more of the old snow.

Light rain developing this evening will quickly change over to light to moderate snow tonight and early Wednesday.

A "Winter Weather Advisory" goes into effect tonight through Wednesday morning south and east of the Quad Cities.

Here is how much snow is expected with the storm.  Keep in mind that if the storm track shifts, the snow totals would shift also.

Right now, we're at 62.2" of snow this winter, which is just 7.5" shy of the snowiest winter on record in the Quad Cities.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Long Stretch Above Freezing

It's going to be a very nice, warm late winter day across eastern Iowa and northern Illinois.  Highs Monday will range from the mid-50s north, around 58° in the Quad Cities, and the low-60s in our southern hometowns.

The last time we saw highs in the 50s was back on December 4, 2013, when we reached 53° in the Quad Cities.

The last time we hit the 60° mark was November 17, 2013.  We also achieved another weather milestone that day, the 70° mark!  It was 71°.

High temperatures were above freezing last Friday and this weekend.  If you add those three days to the ten days in the 10-day forecast you see above, that will be, at least, 13 days above the 32° mark.

The last time we saw ten days above freezing was November 13-22, 2013. 

Those ten days would have been much longer, eight months, in fact, from March 21-November 22, 2013,  had it not been for the high temperature of 31° on November 12, 2013.

Interestingly enough, with highs near 60° today and well into the 40s Tuesday, accumulating snow is likely Tuesday night and early Wednesday!

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

"Spring Forward"

It seems it came up rather quickly on us, but Daylight Saving Time begins early Sunday (2am CST/3am CDT), which means we set our clocks an hour ahead and lose an hour of sleep.

The good news?  More daylight!  The sun sets just after 6pm Saturday, and on Sunday it will set just after 7pm.  Spring begins in just 12 days!

We're seeing a warming trend in temperatures as well.  Starting on Sunday, temperatures will be in the 40s.  South of Interstate 80 where there is much less snow cover, temperature could easily reach the low 50s Sunday.  Much of the area will exceed 50° by Monday.  If we do reach 53°, it will be the warmest temperature since the 53° we climbed to back on December 4th, 2013.

We trend back to the 40s on Tuesday, which is near average.  Temperatures should average in the 40s for much of next week.  Here is the Climate Prediction Center's outlook for days 6-10, which is showing pretty typical temperatures for mid-March standards.

March is a Volatile Month

A warming trend with a few days of above average temperatures is finally on the way to the Quad Cities.

After the first six days this month, our average temperature is 12.9°, which is 20.6° below average.  It has improved slightly from three days ago when we were running 25.3° below average.

It didn't help that on March 2nd, we had the coldest daytime high on record in the Quad Cities for a March day with 7°!

Here is the 7-day forecast and those 40s and one 50-degree-plus day looks nice for the cold and snow weary.

If we achieve that 54° high on Monday, that will be the warmest day in the Quad Cities since December 4, 2013, when we reached 53°.

March can be a volatile month with temperatures.  We've been as warm as 88° in 1986 and as cold as -19° in 1960.

And, just two years ago, it was the warmest March on record in the Quad Cities with an average high of 53.3°. 

To put that into perspective, remember that the average high for the first six days this month is 12.9°!

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Another Snow Then A Big Warm-Up

The 3.7" of snow that officially fell in the Quad Cities in Moline (Davenport only picked 1.3") brings our winter total up to 62.2", which makes this third snowiest winter on record.

Slow melting will take place today with highs around freezing, but a nice warm-up Friday into the 40s will have more snow disappearing.

Another round of light snow comes in Friday night and early Saturday.  Since this is along a quick moving cold front, accumulations should be around an inch or two.

Sunday will be a nice day around 40°, but the big winner will be Monday!

If we do reach 50° in the Quad Cities, that will be our first 50° temperature in three months.  The last time was December 4, 2013, when we hit 53°.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Snow On The Way Tonight & Wednesday

A couple of inches of snow fell in the overnight hours last night up around Dubuque, Iowa.

Another clipper system dropping in tonight and Wednesday will bring more snow.  The snow will be heaviest along and north of Interstate 80 tonight and heaviest to the south of I-80 tomorrow. 

Here is the snowfall forecast from tonight through Thursday morning.

Officially, in the Quad Cities, we're only 0.6" away from moving up from #5 to #4 on the list of snowiest winters on record.

Milder temperatures, around 40°, are expected by Friday.  And, there's a chance of more light snow Friday night and Saturday.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Record Cold Followed By A Warming Trend

Here it is March and the bitter cold temperatures are still hanging around the Mississippi and Illinois Valleys.

As of early this morning, we had dropped to -11° in Moline, establishing a new record low for the date.

That below zero low temperature marks the 32nd time this winter season with sub zero cold in the Quad Cities.

This comes after a high of only 7° Sunday making it the coldest daytime on record in the Quad Cities for the month of March since the National Weather Service started keeping records.

Today's forecast of 12° would also break the cool high record of 14°.

Although we may see some light snow from time to time this week, a warming trend is finally on the way.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Snow Totals & Record Cold

March has come in roaring like a lion!  We saw our 10th weekend out of the last 13 with accumulating snow in the QCA.  Generally 2 to 5 inches of snow fell across the area, with a few areas picking up a half foot of snow.  The Quad City International Airport officially picked up 3.7", making the season's total 58.5" which holds the 5th snowiest snow season on record!

 

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF SNOW TOTALS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

With a fresh snow pack on the ground, temperatures did not recover much on Sunday.  In fact, our high temperature was reached at 2:26am at 7°---- the coldest high temperature on record for March 2nd and the ENTIRE month of March.  Record lows are also possible Sunday night into Monday morning.  In the QC, the record is -8° set 130 years ago in 1884!  With temperatures below zero and winds of 5-15mph, wind chills could be -15° to -25°.

There is a little bit of good news in the forecast.  Temperatures will gradually warm back above freezing by the end of the week, but still below our average highs in the low 40s.

Another Accumulating Weekend Snow

This weekend marks the 10th weekend out of the last 13 that the Quad Cities has seen an accumulating snow!  Our latest snows will track through the area rather quickly tonight, but will generally drop a quick 2-5" of snow across the area.  Hometowns to our south could see a few areas of 5 or 6" totals in areas where we get "banding", an enhanced area of heavier snowfall.

With breezy north winds from 10-20mph, some areas could see a little blowing or drifting so be careful if you have to travel.

Before Saturday's snow, for the entire snow season (which runs from July to June), the QC has seen 54.8", which makes for the 5th snowiest on record.  In order to move into 4th place, we need just 4.3", so we will be very close with this event.  The most snowfall every occurred in 1974/1975 when 69.7" of snow fell during the season!

While the astronomical start of Spring is not until March 20th, March 1st marks the start of "Meteorological Spring."  In the weather world, we split seasons up into 3 different months based on average temperatures.  So, Meteorological Spring is when temperatures on average are "springlike."  Basically in between the three coolest and the three warmest months.  Just 19 more days until astronomical Spring!  Maybe we'll see some improvement in our weather by then.