Above Average Fall Temperatures

Aside from the damp, cool weather we had on Saturday, this October has been above average temperature wise here in the Quad Cities.  Normally, the average temperature between the first 8 days of October should be 68.8625°.  This year we have averaged 75.875° between those days, a little over 7° above average!  Keep in mind, these are just high temperatures.  Our lows have not been far from where they are supposed to be for this time of year.

The next few days will continue to be above average in the mid and upper 70s as high pressure is in control.  However, our next front is set to roll through this weekend, and that will cool temperatures down to near seasonal.  Here is the Climate Prediction Center's 8-14 day outlook for temperatures.

Much of the area expected to see seasonable temperatures through the next two weeks.

While this is just one take on the forecast, there are signs of temperatures falling a bit below average the beginning of next week after another cold front swings through later Monday and Tuesday.  Of course, this is still a week away, so there is plenty of fine tuning to do.

Meanwhile, hopefully you can get out and enjoy the warm weather while you can!  A fantastic time to mow the lawn and get other yard work done.

Northern Lights Tonight?

It's another night with a chance to see the Aurora Borealis!  That's right, the Northern Lights have been spotted in places like Wisconsin and Minnesota already on this Tuesday evening.  There'll be a few clouds rolling through at times tonight but if you're out in the country and especially North of the Quad Cities it's worth a look!   On the map above everybody North of the green line (including the Quad Cities) has a chance of seeing the great display!  As I type this entry I've now seen a report from Iowa that the Northern Lights have been spotted...and remember the last time we talked about this (last week) thousands of people in Illinois and Iowa lucked out and caught a glimpse of the Northern Lights! 

South Dakota Blizzard -- Before & After

While the Quad Cities experienced the coolest daytime high Sunday since Memorial Day weekend at 54°, we've still haven't seen freezing temperatures, a killing frost, or snow!  That isn't the case across South Dakota.

Check out these amazing photos by a colleague, meteorologist Mark Schnackenberg.

In South Dakota, Deadwood picked up 48" of snow, Lead reported 43.5", and Piedmont was blanketed by 35"!

Back home in the Quad Cities, the earliest measurable snow in the past five years was 0.3" on November 9, 2011.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Rain Deficit Update

On Thursday we showed you the latest drought monitor, showing the Quad Cities area is still classified under a severe drought.

Since June 1st, we are averaging 5.70 inches below average, even though June itself was just over one and a half inches above average.  August has been the "contributor" to the drought conditions with a deficit of 3.76 inches!  Believe it or not, October is starting off wetter than average.  Our average monthly rainfall through October 6th is 0.29" and we have seen 0.56".  Sunday's scattered light rain was not measurable at the airport in Moline.

Looking forward, our next chance of rain does not roll in until late Friday night and Saturday.  Right now, rainfall amounts aren't looking great but as always we will take what we can get.  Here is the Weather Prediction Center's 7 day rainfall totals.

Totals from 7pm Sunday 10/6 through 7pm Sunday 10/13

For the entire year of 2013, we have accumulated 34.40" of accumulated precipitation which is 3.59" above our normal of 30.81".  Earlier in the summer we were nearly 8 inches above avg. for the year, so that just goes to show how dry it has been.

Wild Weather Across the US

The past few days have been a wild one all across the country.  A rather large fall storm has been spinning about in the planes states for a few days now, and has everything from large, damaging tornadoes to upwards of 4 feet of snow!  Click HERE for video of the blizzard conditions in Wall, SD.

Closer to home, tornadoes touched down in parts of western Iowa and eastern Nebraska.  Here is the Storm Prediction Center's storm reports from Friday.

 There were 18 reports of tornadoes across the two states.  The National Weather Service says preliminary assessments lead to an EF4 tornado nearly leveled the town of Wayne, Nebraska Friday evening.  EF4 tornadoes of winds between 166mph and 200mph!  There were also several other reports of EF1 and EF2 tornadoes across IA & NE, having winds anywhere between 100mph and 135mph.  It was a very active day.  CLICK HERE to see a slide show of the storms that affected the Sioux City area from our sister station KCAU-TV.  Amazing photos.  Luckily there were no reports of death or *major* injuries.

Those tornadoes were in association with a trailing cold front from the intense low pressure system.  That cold front rolled through the Quad Cities around midday Saturday, having just a few scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.  We did not have the instability from daytime heating to produce any severe weather.  Temperatures will cool down into the 50s with scattered showers in the afternoon on Sunday as the low pressure moves over our area.

There is also a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico.  "Tropical Storm Karen" is in a weakening stage and is expected to affect parts of southern Louisiana as early as tomorrow!  Karen has struggled to stay alive due to a dry air & high shear environment, both unsuitable for tropical development.

Strong T'Storms Possible

The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Severe T'Storm Watch that includes parts of the CBS4 viewing area tonight.  The watch is in effect West of the Quad Cities until 5am.  Right now scattered storms are firing up across parts of the QCA while the stronger storms are still a bit further West.  In fact, there's a tornado warning in effect for a couple counties in Nebraska right now. 

Once the stronger storms reach the Quad Cities they will be fairly widespread and the biggest threat looks to be hail, which in some spots could reach 2"!  As of 9pm it looks like the best chance for widespread storms tonight will be West/NW of the Quad Cities.

Svr. T'Storm Watch

Threats

I'll have an update on Ten at 10 tonight...

Welcomed Rain Coming, But Drought Still Persists

We saw scattered showers and thunderstorms across the Mississippi and Illinois Valleys Thursday morning. Some hometowns in Knox and Henry counties in Illinois picked up more than an inch of rain.

More showers and storms are possible today, tonight, and, again, Friday night and Saturday. Generally speaking, rainfall amounts of one-half to more than an inch of rain are expected. However, as with any thunderstorm, there will be isolated higher totals.

While this rain is definitely needed and appreciated, it won't end our drought. Here is the latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor report that came out this morning.



This shows that much of Iowa and west-central Illinois are still experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to give you the specific percentages.  This is what pops up on NOAA's website when I try to access that information:

Due to the Federal government shutdown,
NOAA.gov and most associated web sites
are unavailable.

Only web sites necessary to protect lives
and property will be maintained.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

 

Northern Lights Timelapse from Iowa

Here's a great timelapse video of the aurora from late Tuesday night and early Wednesday...

It looks like Dan Gottschalk made the video and I first spotted it thanks to Mark Schnackenberg



And another...



And one from just North of Macomb, IL

Several Days of Rain Chances

An unsettled weather pattern is shaping up for the Midwest and this will likely bring a soaking rain to eastern Iowa and northern Illinois.

This comes after the Quad Cities just endured the ninth driest September on record with only 0.96" of rain.

While I'm expecting widespread rainfall totals of one-half to one inch of rain from late Wednesday night through early Saturday, some hometowns may have isolated higher totals, especially with thunderstorms.

However, look at the rainfall forecast of more than 3" across parts of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.  And, if that not surprising enough for you, some of that could be in the form of heavy snow across South Dakota and Wyoming Friday!

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) Tonight?

WEDNESDAY EVENING UPDATE: 

It's looking like we'll have another chance to see the Northern Lights tonight, as long as we have a few breaks in the clouds.  Last night's event was spectacular as evidenced by the many pictures and videos from places all over the northern half of the United States!  The aurora update from Europe this evening looks like things be promising for portions of the U.S. again tonight! 

Previous Post:

Thanks to a recent solar storm there's an outside chance we could see the Northern Lights tonight in the Quad Cities.  We've gotta be really lucky to see the aurora this far south but every once in a while it happens, so if you're out late tonight, especially in the country, it's worth a shot.  Look off to the North and if you see a greenish or blueish tone to the sky consider yourself lucky!  Here's one forecast that shows the Northern Lights are likely tonight well north of the Quad Cities...

And a FB page you might want to check out to get aurora alerts: Click here

And while we're at it:  Andy's FB page - click here

Anthony's FB page - click here

Kyle's FB page - click here