WATCHING WEDNESDAY...

Rain finally moved into the region Tuesday and became more widespread into this morning. We'll have rain on and off through the day as the storm moves through:

As the storm moves through the southeastern part of Iowa temperatures will get bumped up into the 60s and 70s:

The Storm Prediction Center is still highlighting parts of the area with a marginal risk (1 out of 5) of severe weather today due to our proximity to the low pressure system:

This is highly conditional - meaning it's dependent on if we get any clearing/sunshine. If the atmosphere doesn't have enough fuel thunderstorms likely won't happen. However, if thunderstorms develop a few may be strong with gusty winds and hail. An isolated, brief tornado cannot be ruled out either, due to the fact that we're close to the low and there will be plenty of spin available. The best chance for storms would be after 3 pm:

That's something we'll have to watch as the day goes on... the strong storms would not last long due to weak instability today.

There may be some lingering showers overnight into Thursday, especially near and east of the Mississippi:

The good news is we're getting some beneficial rain after three weeks of dry weather. Most of the area will see a half an inch to an inch of rain with some locally higher amounts where thunderstorms develop:

We'll dry out and start to warm up as we head toward Memorial Day weekend... more on that in my next post.

RK