Weather Headlines
- NEXT 9 HOURS: Rain moving in
- SHORT TERM: Ups and downs in temperatures
- LONG TERM: Christmas week looking quiet
Latest Forecast
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A strong storm system brings some dynamic, but brief, changes to eastern Iowa.
Southerly winds are keeping us mild tonight, and they’ll also help to moisten up the atmosphere, leading to the development of precipitation overnight. These will be in the form of rain showers for the vast majority of the time, though. The exceptions, at only a slim chance, would be in northeast Iowa around daybreak, or right as a cold front moves through, when a snowflake or two could mix in. This shower activity could impact your morning commute, potentially making for a slushy trip to work and school with temperatures in the 30s to 40s.
By late morning into the afternoon, wind gusts will increase substantially around eastern Iowa behind the morning’s cold front. These will come from the west-northwest initially, gradually turning more directly northwesterly by evening. A Wind Advisory is in effect for parts of eastern Iowa to account for this, but everyone can expect wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph from around midday into the evening.
A blast of colder air comes along with these winds, too, with temperatures dropping from midday highs on Thursday. They’ll be in the low to mid 20s for most by dinner, falling into the single digits above zero on Friday morning. Wind chills to start out on Friday will likely be below zero, though wind speeds will have eased somewhat by then. This colder air mass will be around on Friday, with highs only in the upper 20s to low 30s.
A big bounce-back is in store for Saturday, with temperatures climbing throughout Friday night into the upper 30s to low 40s by midday on Saturday. Another cold front is in store, though, and temperatures will again fall on gusty winds for the second half of the weekend. Both those wind gusts, and the resultant temperature drop, will not be as sharp. Instead, expect lows on Sunday morning in the 10s, and highs in the low 30s…