Veterans Day Chill

After seeing temperatures near 60° on Saturday & near 50° on Sunday, we are in for a BIG change in the Quad Cities.  A strong cold front will sweep through the area on Monday, meaning our forecast high of 43° will occur during the middle or late morning hours and plummet during the afternoon.  Combine that with gusty northerly winds, wind chills will be down in the teens!

7 Day Forecast (valid 11/10/13)

As you can see, there is a chance to see some light rain and snow showers along with the passage of the cold front.  Ahead of the front there is a chance for a few light showers, but once the front passes, we could get in a period of light snow.  In fact, a few models are bringing a band of light snow in during the early afternoon hours.

WSI RPM model valid 2 p.m. Monday

The precipitation should be out of the area by the evening hours, with accumulations on grassy areas of a half an inch or less (if any). We'll start to see a decrease in the clouds Mon. night as a very strong area of Canadian high pressure settle into the area, meaning COLD, COLD, COLD.  Temperatures Monday night and Tuesday night will dip down into the middle teens to lower 20s area wide, leaving high temps barely making it above freezing on Tuesday!

Super Typhoon Haiyan Devastates Philippines

Super Typhoon Haiyan made landfall around the center islands of the Philippines.  The category 5 cyclone packed sustained peak winds of 195mph at one point.  Weather officials say the storm packed winds of 147mph at the time of landfall.  "Haiyan" is the fourth typhoon to hit the islands this season.  The storm also impacted areas directly affected by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake back in October.

Courtesy: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Thousands are feared dead across the Philippines due to Haiyan's wrath.  It's hard to get an exact number due to the lack of a way to communicate (i.e. computers, cell phone, telephone).  Once communication venues are restored, the death toll is expected to rise.  Many of these deaths are expected to be from flooding after nearly a foot of rain fell in some areas, as well as collapsed buildings.  The nation's disaster agency reports that nearly 4 millions people were evacuated before the storm hit.

While the storm has weakened just a little bit, it's still a very strong cyclone churning in the South China Sea and is expected to brush parts of Vietnam in the next couple of days.  Vietnamese officials have evacuated nearly 500,000 people from "high risk" areas to buildings that are more able to withstand the destructive winds.

I expect more bad news & pictures coming from overseas in the coming days, unfortunately.  For more on the storm and to see some of the damaged areas, click this CBS story.

Coldest Air of the Season

A great weekend is expected across the Quad Cities with highs Saturday approaching 60°.  It will be cooler on Sunday and Monday before the really cold air arrives early next week.

The way things stand now, much colder air comes in Monday night and Tuesday, along with the possibility of some light snow or flurries.  Little, if any, accumulation is expected.

The big story will be the coldest air of the season with highs Tuesday and Wednesday in the 30s and morning lows Wednesday could be in the teens!

Andy will have the very latest on this tonight at 5, 6, and 10 and Kyle will continue to update us on the cold and light snow potential this weekend.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Next Week's Weather Update

If your hopes are up for a lot of snow next week in the Quad Cities, I'll try to let you down easy with this blog update... While we do have the chance for some snow late Monday and Tuesday any totals look to be very light and by far the biggest weather story will be to cold temperatures!  Highs will range from 15 to 20 degrees below average!  With a normal high in the lower 50s that translates to HIGH TEMPS IN THE 30s! 

Here's a snapshot from the latest run of the GFS - snow totals (very light) and very cold temps!




Very light snow

Tuesday high temps well below normal
 

Nearing Our Yearly Precipitation Average

Our latest rain event is beginning to wind down and by Wednesday afternoon, we'll see a mix of sun and clouds.

The downside is that afternoon temperatures will only be in the 40s and northwest winds at about 20-30 miles-per-hour will definitely put a chill in the air.

These are the rainfall totals (as of 9 a.m. Wednesday) from yesterday and this morning.

While Davenport got more rain than Moline, this rain brings our yearly precipitation total at Quad City International Airport to 37.26", which is now just 0.70" shy of the yearly average.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Update on Tuesday Night Rain

Here's a quick update on rain potential for Tuesday night...we're still on track for rain tonight and models indicate anywhere from around a half an inch of rain up to just under 1 inch of rain in the Quad Cities.  All the rain is developing around a cold front that will work through the metro area by around 10am, effectively ending all of the moderate rain.  Here are 2 model forecasts for rain totals...

As I check the radar and the rain's development this evening it looks like totals will end up closer to the lower end of this range.  Count on anywhere from a quarter to a half an inch around the Quad Cities.  This will push us closer to the annual average rain total in the Quad Cities (thanks to our very wet 1st 6 months of the year) as Anthony mentioned in the blog earlier this week!

Finally, it is a strong fall storm and ahead of the cold front winds will stay gusty tonight out of the South...here's a Special Weather Statement from the NWS in Davenport this evening:

...STRONG WINDS AFFECTING THE AREA THROUGH LATE EVENING...

SOUTH WINDS AHEAD OF A STORM SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
MIDNIGHT. THESE WINDS WILL BE SUSTAINED AROUND 20 MPH TO 25
MPH...WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 40 MPH. BE PREPARED FOR STRONG SOUTH WINDS
IF TRAVELING.

Next Rain May Push Us Close To Our Annual Average

As of today, 36.82" of precipitation (rain and melted snow) has accumulated in the Quad Cities in 2013.  This is only 1.14" shy of what is considered average for a calendar year.

Another soaking rain is on the way to the area Tuesday and Wednesday.  Here's the latest CBS4 projection on rainfall amounts.

This will bring us very close to our average annual precipitation.  However, that is very deceiving considering 21.32" of that total fell in the April, May, and June.  Meanwhile, only 1.72" fell in August and September.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Another Beneficial Rain

I suspect after 1.85 inches of rain last week, this coming Thursday's release of the Drought Monitor will bring some much needed good news to the area that has been suffering from moderate to severe drought.

More good news (or bad if you're not a fan of rain).  Another round of moderate to heavy rainfall is on the way to the Quad Cities Tuesday & Wednesday of this week.  Right now it looks like the rain will start late Tuesday with the best chances of heavy rain Tuesday night and Wednesday.  Here's the Weather Prediction Center's QPF.

This particular forecast is showing anywhere from a half inch to three quarters of an inch of rain.  However, we will be getting plenty of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and from the remnants of the Pacific Tropical Storm, "Sonia."  So the moisture combined with the forcing from the cold front that is set to move through the area, many areas could once again see over an inch of rainfall.  Stay with CBS4 throughout the next couple of days and we'll keep you updated on the chance for rain.

Also, just wanted to remind you all that CBS4 has 12 more pairs of MT350R Motorola Two Way Weather Radios to give away over the next three Fridays on CBS4 News This Morning, CBS4 News at 5, 6, and Ten at 10.  CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

November Climate Stats

October ended on a rather wet note and the month of November has started off on a cool note.  It's hard to believe it's November and time to change those clocks back on hour as Daylight Saving Time ends.

Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday 11/3 at 2AM

Here are a few climate statistics for this 11th month of the year:  Average low/high on Nov. 1st: 38°/57° vs. Nov. 20th: 24°/41°.  That's a 16° difference in average high temperature throughout the month.  Just 15 days out of the month average a high above 50°, and 17 mornings generally have lows below 32°.

As far as precipitation goes, we see in average of 2.56" of liquid equivalent (rain & snow) in November.  The average snowfall for the month is 1.2", generally spread throughout two days. 

The highest temperature ever recorded for the month was 80° (11/1/2000) with the lowest temperatures being -10° (11/31/1891).

As you can see, November is generally a month of change as we get closer and closer to the three coldest months of the year (December/January/February).

October Ends Up Wetter Than Average

November is here now and there's only two months left in 2013.  After a couple of rainy days with amounts generally in the one to three inch range, here's what it looked like from our Sky Cam Friday morning as the clouds started breaking up.

That 1.83" of rain from Wednesday and Thursday pushed the official Quad Cities' October precipitation total to 3.23", which was 0.26" above average.

More impressively, after the summer drought, October is now the fourth wettest month of the year.  In an average year, there are six months wetter than October.

Other than a couple of light showers or sprinkles late Friday into Friday night, our next rain event arrives Monday night into Wednesday.  That one could be another soaker.

Have a great weekend!

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples