TUMBLING DOWN...

Low pressure rolled through eastern Iowa Tuesday afternoon. With it came southerly winds and another surge of mild air. Highs in SE Iowa managed to reach the low 60s in the warm sector. Within the cold sector where northerly winds prevailed, temperatures in NW Iowa were in the teens and up to 6 inches of snow fell at Lake Park. Look at the temperature contrast at 2:00 p.m. across Iowa. (19 to 62 degrees).

Wind chills were as low as 4 degrees in NW Iowa at the same time, nearly 70 degrees cooler than how it felt in the southeast part of the state.

Snow was generally confined to the NW half of Iowa, west of the low pressure track.

Overall, a healthy swath of snow was observed from Colorado to NW Wisconsin.

Wednesday the big coat comes in handy again as a fast moving blast of cold air makes its way across the Midwest. Temperatures to start the day will be down around 20-25 degrees.

With a stiff NW wind those wind chills will be a force to reckon with down around 7-12 degrees.

Temperatures won't go up much during the day remaining below freezing, generally in the 25-30 degree range. At least there will be some sunshine to take the edge off.

The pattern is currently progressive and the fast movement of systems means significant fluctuations in temperatures and a fair amount of wind, with pressures rapidly rising and falling between disturbances. South winds are already in play Thursday ahead of our next front and by Friday, highs are expected to be back in the 50s in most areas.

Another polar front arrives Friday night with a quick hitting surge of cold air. At least during the day Saturday, highs will hold in the 20s to near 30 with wind chills in the teens. It looks like a raw day but the frontal passage itself will be another dry one.

For good measure, a new system is set to arrive Monday night. Look for another warm up ahead of it and a sharp cool-down once it passes Tuesday. This disturbance could bring some precipitation but overall the pattern is not conducive to large wet storm systems. The latest GFS shows precipitation departures that are well below normal over the central Midwest through December 15th.

Actually, some precipitation would be a good thing in parts of my area. Here in Dubuque, Wednesday will be the 14th consecutive day with no measurable rain. We've seen far too many of those streaks up this way since mid summer.

I am seeing signs that progressively colder temperatures will take a toll leading to below normal temperatures in the long range. The climate prediction center indicates that in its 8-14 day outlook.

The EURO control has 10 day departures December 4th-14th that look like this.

In summation, the ups and downs in temperatures will be the big weather story for at least another week. Precipitation on the other hand won't be much of a factor. Short term, Wednesday looks mighty fresh with brisk winds and much colder readings, one of those down days. Make it a good one and roll weather...TS

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