Morning Sunshine Gives Way to Late Day Rain Chances

Mother nature did her best this morning to make sure we saw some positive weather before rain chances arrive later on. A few breaks in the clouds allowed for a decent amount of sunshine, and we even had a heavenly sunrise to start off the day.

With that said, don't let these dry conditions fool you. Skies will be become cloudy once again and the batch of showers that are currently moving through central Iowa will move into the region by this afternoon. Before leaving your house, make sure your rain gear is handy. Despite the increasingly cloudy skies and afternoon rain chances, highs will climb into the lower 70’s ahead of tomorrow’s cold front. It will be a bit windy throughout the day as well. A strengthening and deepening low pressure system will cause the pressure at the surface to tighten up a bit. This will cause winds out of the southeast to gust up to 25-30 mph at times today. Enjoy the warm temperatures today as much as you can, because today is going to be the warmest day of the current 7 day forecast.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be likely overnight into early Friday morning as the potent cold front approaches. Areas along the rivers are still experiencing moderate flooding conditions, so additional rainfall could lead to rises along already swollen rivers. If there is any good news with this upcoming rain, these showers will be quick to move in and out. We won't see hefty rainfall totals when this is all said and done, but some of us could see as much as a half to three-quarters of an inch.

Model guidance has been consistent with the cold front passing through earlier than expected. It seems that the front should be passing through during the morning commute and into the mid-morning hours. Behind that cold front, the first breath of winter is soon to follow. Believe it or not, our high temperature tomorrow will happen early on in the day. Most of us will start out in the low 60s.

As the cold front slices through the Stateline, temperatures will begin to tumble into the 40’s by Friday evening. It would be a wise idea to dress warm before heading out the door tomorrow morning. It may not feel chilly as you head to school or to work, but temperatures are set to quickly plummet as the day progresses. On top of the big chill that moves in Friday, the winds will continue to be gusty after the cold frontal passage. Wind gusts Friday into Saturday could be as high as 30 to 35 mph.

As temperatures drop overnight Friday into Saturday, the threat for frost and a killing freeze develops. Overnight lows will be in the 30s. But because you have strong westerly winds, wind chills will drop into the 20s. For that reason, portions of the Midwest, including the western counties of the viewing area, will be under a freeze watch starting tomorrow evening and stretching into Saturday morning.