WINDS OF CHANGE...

Strong winds on Saturday brought about change... sending temperatures into the 80s and even 90s in the Midwest. Here's a look at the temperatures as of 7 pm:

Here's a look at some of the wind gusts around Iowa, which was one of the main drivers of warming the temperatures up. Strong southerly winds and very dry air created high fire danger and the near-record warmth:

The winds are a byproduct of strong warm front sitting to the north of the area. The front is attached to a storm system that will bring rain (finally) as we head through Sunday and Monday.

Sunday will still be warm and a bit breezy:

Clouds will be building in throughout the day, then showers and storms arrive Sunday night and into Monday:

There's still some uncertainty on how strong storms will be, since this appears to be a situation where a lot of the precipitation is going to occur behind the actual cold front. Right now the Storm Prediction Center has a risk for severe weather highlighted south of Iowa and the QC:

I wouldn't be surprised to see this get shifted north some, but that will be sorted out in the next 24-36 hours.

What is great about this system is that a lot of us need the rain! Terry explained the rainfall deficits and drought conditions in his last post. So this rain is needed as many of us haven't had measurable precipitation in three weeks (last time in Cedar Rapids was April 10th!).

Here's a look at the precipitation on the hi-resolution NAM:

And the European model (which I am posting through Tuesday to show all of the rain in Illinois):

There's going to be some differences based on the arrival time of the rain and the placement of any thunderstorms. Beneficial rain, but likely not a drought buster.

Behind this front temperatures will cool down... high temperatures on Tuesday will be about 20-30 degrees cooler than what happened on Saturday:

We'll talk more about that change in my next post.

For now, enjoy the warmth and get ready for some rain!

RK