THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT...

Friday was just one of those days you have to write off and move on from. A strong surge of warm air was situated north south over central Iowa. At noon to the west, the sun was out and temperatures in western Iowa were approaching 90. To the east, a thick canopy of clouds and even some showers was holding readings in the upper 50s. Take a look at this contrast. 88 in Omaha and 57 in Decorah, a distance of 240 miles as the crow flies. Ultimately the high reached 64 in Decorah (way below normal)

Ultimately the high reached 64 in Decorah. At my place in Dubuque we hit only 68 and I was wearing a sweatshirt much of the day. You can see at mid-day how readings in NE Iowa were nearly 20 degrees below the norm while in far NW Iowa they were 10 degrees above.

The warm advection clouds and cooler weather was evident east of the front in this early afternoon satellite image.

Within the clouds a narrow band of rain caught some of my western counties in Iowa. Amounts of 1/4" plus fell in a small 20-30 mile wide corridor. Elsewhere little to no rain fell. Here are the Doppler estimates from the Iowa Flood Center.

The position of the front will hold the key to the forecast the rest of the weekend. The big weather story Saturday will be temperatures and humidity. With the central Iowa boundary inching northeast that puts all but the far north in the warm sector and we can expect to see a noticeable shift to summery conditions. Highs will reach the mid 80s to low 90s in the central and south. The north should be cooler closer to developing cold front highs there may remain in the low 80s.

Precipitation chances have improved Saturday for the SE half of my area (roughly near and SE of the Quad Cities) late in the day or evening. Before then a few showers could badger the north early but those should gradually fizzle. After that the advancing cold front reaches the SE towards the evening and peak heating. Some of the hi-res convective allowing models are now firing storms at that time. That was not the case the past few days. The 3k NAM shows them in this position Saturday evening moving southeast.

Confidence on this is still low to moderate but at least some scattered heavy downpours and gusty winds are possible in spots if storms indeed go up. Here's what models are suggesting for rainfall totals.

The model blend (NBM guidance)

The 3k NAM

The Weather Prediction Center guidance

By Sunday morning the cold front has clear the region and cooler and drier air begins to filter in. Highs Sunday and Monday will range from the upper 70s north to the low 80s south. Dew points will eventually dip into the low 60s. After that several days of pleasant dry weather looks to be on the table through the coming week. The future looks bright!

Speaking of that, next week I am taking a few days off to work on a big project that's nearing completion. I am renovating what's known as the Little White Church just north of Galena and turning it into an Airbnb. I will be working long hours out there doing some hard core landscaping...I even have a skid loader! During that period Nick Stewart, the meteorologist at KGAN TV and FOX 28 in Cedar Rapids will be my guest blogger. Nick is a great young talent and he will bring a fresh take on things before I return in a week. He and the alluring Rebecca Kopelman will take care of you until I return August 22nd. My thanks to them and to you for your understanding. Have a great weekend and roll weather....TS