THE OCTOBER OSCILLIATION...

There has been a back and forth battle between summer and fall -- and summer seems to be winning. Temperatures were within a few degrees of records on Sunday and could be on Monday as well:

Temperatures more typical in August in the middle of October! But a series of systems will move through this week and by Wednesday its feeling like fall:

And by Wednesday night some parts of the area will be back in the 30s!

This back and forth continues as several systems come through and we go between troughs (cooler air) and ridges (warmer air). But it seems like the ridges start to win out:

That is also evident in the GFS temperature outlook for Cedar Rapids:

And the Quad Cities:

With the back and forth there may be a more active pattern developing, but it's been hard to come by a raindrop here lately!

Rebecca Kopelman