Short term the forecast is pretty straightforward. A Rex Block is in charge out to the west and it is locking the pattern down, however that pattern is projected to slowly break down as we head into next weekend. The overall ridge axis will likely slide to the west keeping the heat in place across much of the county. Locally we will likely see a slightly "cooler" trend by next weekend and someone more tolerable humidity levels as northwest flow brings in some drier air aloft.

Now that we are in the heart of summer, and I'm confined to limited physical activity recovering from heart surgery, I spend a lot of time on my computer. One of the issues I focused heavily on today was the El Nino developing in the tropical Pacific. Most guidance forecasts it to reach the upper echelon of El Nino intensity by the time it peaks in late fall to early winter. During El Niño events, tremendous amounts of heat are transferred from the Pacific ocean to the atmosp

This was certainly one of the more telegraphed starts to a July I can remember. Looking through my post from last weekend, it's actually quite remarkable how well the forecast went overall, with a return to active weather locally Thursday, flooding along area rivers on the holiday weekend and localized severe weather as well Estimated rainfall totals across much of Iowa and northern Illinois exceed 3-4" in many locations, but of course there were some of those that missed the

Well here we are, the epicenter of summer and the 4th of July weekend. Thank you for patiently waiting for me to get my health in check. It was late March when everything went down the tank and my hope was to be up and actively functioning in the world by now! ONE OF 4 IV LINES IN MY ARMS A WEEK AGO As you know, sometimes things don't work out the way you plan and so it is with me. As a result, my recovery, (which was always going to be a difficult one no matter what) is on

The entire state of Iowa is under an Excessive Heat Warning is in effect through at least Wednesday as the intense heat is here to stick around for much of the week. Air temperatures are forecast to climb into the low/mid 90s with heat indices pushing 105° to 110°. Heat exhaustion can hit you in 15 minutes of continued work outside or less, so please make sure you are all staying hydrated and taking breaks in the shade, or ideally air conditioned spaces. Forecast air temperat