IOWA — Thursday and Friday will bring severe weather to parts of the state. Thursday, the highest risk is in eastern Iowa, and on Friday, the greatest risk is from Des Moines south and east.
THURSDAY SEVERE
Thursday will bring steady rain across Iowa early in the day. A pocket of heavy rain and thunderstorms will spin into western Iowa through 9 AM and move through the noon hour across Des Moines and Ames. There will be a brief window of clearing and heating in southern to southeast Iowa, taking temperatures there into the upper 60s. This will lead to instability as the low spins in. There will be enough low-level shear and energy that tornadoes will be possible east of I-35.
The storms will fire up near Des Moines and Lamoni around 2 p.m. and move east towards Grinnell through 4 p.m. They will continue pushing east through the evening, coalescing into a line of storms.
Besides tornadoes, today’s storms may also produce hail and damaging winds.
Here is a look at the timing of today’s weather:
FRIDAY SEVERE
Friday brings the next round of severe weather. A second low and warm front comes in again from the southwest on Friday. This will bring some similar set up conditions. However it will be drier in the morning across Central Iowa. Temperatures will rise into the mid 60s. Storms will form in western Iowa around 4 PM and move east. The storms will cross central Iowa including Des Moines and Ames between 5 PM and 7 PM. There will be a risk of hail, damaging winds and tornadoes again.
For a full look at the forecast beyond Thursday and Friday, visit our weather page here…