Rainy Monday, Big Cooldown Expected by Weeks End

My goodness! I hope you were about to get outside, and enjoy the beautiful weather we saw over the weekend. Even with a cold front sliding through late in the day on Saturday, we saw plenty of sunshine and highs climb into the low 80s. Sunday started out pretty cloudy, but any cloud cover  did give way to sunny skies late in the day. As we begin the new work week, we are trading in the sun-filled skies for our first rain chances in a little over a week.  

If your morning routine took you out the door early on, you likely stayed clear of this morning's rain chances. For the most part, the Stateline woke up to increasing clouds and mild temperatures as shower activity remained in eastern Iowa. If your schedule takes you out the door at a later time this morning, make sure to grab the rain gear before heading out. Model guidance continues to show rain chances increasing after 9-10AM, and continuing until 2-3PM, so about a three to four hour window for rain to accumulate. A few rumbles of thunder are possible, especially with the initial surge of shower activity. Although severe weather is out of the question, small hail and gusty winds are possible. Once that cold front fully slides through, gusty southeast winds this morning will shift to the northwest, ushering in a very dry air mass for this evening and for the overnight hours. 

Due to the increase in cloud cover and the timing of today's cold front, highs are going to occur early on in the day. Highs for most will top out in the mid to upper 60s, before slowly tumbling into the afternoon. As cooler air rushes into the Stateline, winds are expected to ramp up. In fact, through the afternoon, northwesterly wind gusts could approach 30-35 miles per hour at times. With that being said, I wouldn't be surprised to see a spot or two observe a 40 mph wind gust. Winds should subside by sunset, with a return to southwesterly flow ahead by the overnight hours. Cloud cover, also expected to decrease into tonight. The combination of the clear skies, and the cooler air moving in will make for a cooler start to our Tuesday. Low temps overnight look to sink down into the low to mid 40s. Unlike this morning, you may want to grab a jacket before stepping out the doorway. 

Aside from today's rain chances, the bigger weather story remains to be the big cooldown we see heading into the later half of the work week. Temperatures remain comfortably warm into midweek, with highs temperatures in the low 70s. However, the jet stream dips well to the south late Wednesday into Thursday. That's going to allow another cold Canadian air-mass to filter in by the time we enter Thursday afternoon. Better get your sweaters prepared, because Fall will be in full swing entering the upcoming weekend. As mentioned above, highs will fall from the low 70s Wednesday down into the low 50s starting Thursday. Overnight lows Thursday and Friday flirt with the freezing mark, so a killing frost could be possible. For folks with lively crops, you'll want to ensure a plan is in place as temperatures drop late this week.