ALL SUMMERED UP...

Summer was back on the burner Saturday with toasty temperatures and higher humidity on full display. Smoke from distant forest fires was also evident by the hazy skies that ruled the day.

The one thing that was missing was rain. Since the start of September we've returned to the dry ways that have dominated my central and northern counties all summer long. At that Quad City International Airport in Moline only .09 inches of rain has fallen through the first 11 days of the month. Typically about 1.3 inches would fall over that period.

Since August 1st here are the departures around the region. While northern Iowa has been incredibly wet, the majority of my area along with southern Iowa and northern Illinois has been dry. The departures would be even higher were it not for a period of wet weather late August. That's when much of the rain fell up north.

That leads me to the latest drought monitor which continues to show abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions across all but my southern counties. Some spots west of a line from Cedar Rapids to Waterloo remain in severe drought despite several inches of rain in late August.

Conditions in much of my area near and north of I-80 have grown worse over the past week,

Where you see the orange and reds is where the driest conditions currently exist.

Here you can see the rain amounts from the past week along with the departures from mean. It was a dry week for most.

While there will be a couple opportunities for rain Sunday night and again Tuesday the latest trends are not favorable for widespread or heavy precipitation. Sunday night and early Monday the odds favor my far northern counties near HWY 20 and points north for scattered showers and storms near a stationary front. That boundary wavers around up north until Tuesday when it decides to make push through the rest of my area. Models at this point are not showing optimal timing with the frontal passage and that means the better chances with this opportunity are likely to be over my far southern counties. That may mean a large portion of my area that could really use the rain ends up high and dry. The way this summer has gone that certainly would not be a surprise. Here's what the EURO and GFS are showing for rainfall totals Sunday night through Tuesday night. The GFS is the furthest north and at least for now is a bit of an outlier. We should have a better idea where things are trending Tuesday in the next 24-48 hours.

The EURO

The GFS

It also seems our new found warmth is going to be a feature of our weather into Tuesday of next week, especially in my central and southern counties where highs Sunday through Tuesday are projected to be in the range of 85-90. The far north around HWY 20 may fair better as highs may be impacted by the front that could generate some periods of clouds and even a few showers and storms. Readings 80-84 may prevail here.

That's all I have on a Saturday night...other than to say, HOW BOUT THEM HAWKS! Roll weather...TS