A Foggy Start

Temperatures this morning dipped into the upper 30s and lower 40s, bringing them close to the dew point.  With light winds and plenty of moisture in the air, fog began to form.  A dense fog advisory was then issued for the counties in orange until 10 am.  The fog could reduce visibilities to 1/4 of a mile.  Make sure you leave a few minutes early for work or school so you can get there safely. 

Warm Weather Ahead (Thanksgiving Included!)

After a mild weekend temps are a little cooler Monday thanks to some extra clouds...but the middle of the week looks like it will be nice and MILD!  Here's a model plot of temps through the next 7 days.  I've circled the highs through the middle of the week, we could be close to 60° for the next 3 days, and in the 60s for Thanksgiving!  Our QC climate records go back to 1872, and though that time we've only had a Thanksgiving high in the 60s 7.2% of the time!

More Mild Weather Ahead....

Temperatures will be well above average to start out of the week before they fall back to the 40s by black Friday.  Enjoy the warmth while it lasts!

Leonid Meteor Shower

Don't forget the LEONID METEOR SHOWER peaks tonight!  If you're outside late, and far away from city lights, you'll likely see up to 25 "shooting stars" per hour!  Get as far away from city lights as you can and look up to the darkest part of the sky.  We should have clear skies and the moon will not be a problem so it should be a decent night of star-gazing in the Quad Cities!

Thanksgiving forecast

It's only a week away from The Thanksgiving Holiday and many will traveling, so what can we expect.  Rain is expected on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, then the skies look to clear for Wednesday and Thursday.  Above is the 0z GFS model from 11/15, it shows high pressure just to the East of the Quad Cities.  This will make for a great day fro travel on Wednesday and also a very nice Thanksgiving day.  There is however the chance for some rain late on Black Friday, so get that shopping done early! 

Leonid Meteor Shower

We're just a couple days away from the peak of the Leonid Meteor Shower!  It's typically one of the top 3 meteor showers each year and if we're lucky we'll see up to 20 "shooting stars!" 

A few things to keep in mind:

1.  Places in the country (without city lights) are much better for meteor shower viewing.
2.  The peak happens LATE at night (more accurately EARLY in the morning)
3.  The peak looks to be early Saturday (from midnight to dusk on Saturday.)

For everything else you need to know Click Here! 

Northern Lights

It's another night where some folks MIGHT see the Northern Lights!  It's far more likely North of the QC but if the clouds hold off for long enough there's a slight chance some of us could see the Northern Lights...

It's more likely we'll be able to take advantage of a meteor shower this weekend, I'll post about what could be a great Leonids Meteor Showers this weekend later this week...

 Forecast

Another Aurora Forecast

Veterans Day Snow

As temperatures crashed on Sunday some wet snow mixed in with the rain in a lot of towns across the area.  The official QC weather report, from near the airport in Moline, included a trace of snow Sunday evening.  Here's a pic from Galesburg on Sunday night, where weather watcher Larry picked up about a quarter inch of snow!

Big Temperature Changes!!

After the passage of a strong cold front, temperatures have dramatically dropped.  We tied the record high of 71° Saturday afternoon, but we are having single digit wind chills this Monday morning.  Temperatures were in the low 60s Sunday morning, prompting an almost 40° temperature drop in the last 24 hrs.  Above is a representation of our 24 hr temperature change. 

Sunday's Rainfall Totals...

Some much needed rain fell once again around the QCA.  Many neighborhoods to the west of the Mississippi River picked up an inch or more.  Our weather watcher in Galesburg even reported some light snow!