After a fine fall weekend, forecasters say we’re in for a much colder week ahead with the chance for snow in parts of Iowa midweek.
Meteorologist Dylan Dodson, at the National Weather Service, says a storm front will move in later today bringing showers, with many areas of the state facing a 100-percent chance of rain.
“We’ll see the first signs of that as winds really pick up on the backside of this late tonight into Tuesday morning, and then we’ll also have windy conditions on Wednesday,” Dodson says. “On Wednesday, when those colder temperatures really set in, high temperatures will be getting down into the low 40s to upper 30s, which means our overnight lows are going to be even colder. By the end of the week, we could be seeing widespread lows in the 20s.”
While parts of the Dakotas are expecting more than four inches of snow, Dodson says he doesn’t expect anywhere near those amounts in Iowa, though we may see some flakes flying on Wednesday.
“We could see a dusting of snow more likely over the northern portions of the state,” Dodson says. “Not going to be much for accumulations, at least what we’re seeing right now for us, but we could certainly see some snow falling, and then further south and further east, we’ll be seeing more rain or maybe a rain-snow mix.”
The thunderstorms later today could be severe, with strong winds gusting up to 40 miles an hour. Tornadoes are unlikely, but are always possible, even in the final months of the year.
“We’ve had a lot of tornadoes across the state, December 15th, 2021 comes to mind. That had some of the highest tornadoes that we’ve ever seen in the state, and that happened in December,” Dodson says. “Tornadoes can happen any time of the year, so we’ve always got to stay aware. Obviously, the chances get lower when you get into the colder months, but it’s never zero.”
The National Weather Service recently confirmed an EF-0 tornado hit near Bloomfield on November 5th. That adds to the record year for twisters in Iowa. The state’s now had 125 confirmed tornadoes this year, more than ever before.