Today: Sunny, with a high near 59. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 42. South wind around 5-10 mph.
Monday: Rain likely, mainly before noon. Cloudy, with a high near 55. South wind 5-107 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Monday Night: A 20% chance of rain before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42.
Tuesday: Partly sunny & breezy. A high near 51. Winds W/NW @ 15-25 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy & blustery, with a low around 24. s
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 38.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18.
Thanksgiving Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.

Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 64. The Low this morning was 22. Last year on this date (Nov. 23rd), the High in Atlantic was 54 and the Low was 23. The Record High in Atlantic on 11/23 was 84 in 1953, while the Record Low was -6 in 1897. Sunrise today: 7:18; Sunset is at 4:54.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 61. S/SW wind @ 6-14 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Gusts as high as 21
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 30. W/NW wind @ 5-7 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 58. calm wind becoming S @ 5-7 MPH in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: Increasing clouds w/a 20 chance of rain after midnight. A low around 40. S wind @ around 6 mph.
Monday: Rain. High near 54. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Monday Night: A 40% chance of rain before midnight. A low around 39. Mostly cloudy.
Tuesday: Partly sunny & breezy, with a high near 48

Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High near 38

Friday’s High in Atlantic was 45. The Low was 25. Last year on this date (Nov. 22nd), the High in Atlantic was 45 and the Low was 22. The Record High in Atlantic on 11/22 was 69 in 1966, while the Record Low was -10 in 1937. Sunrise today: 7:16; Sunset is at 4:55.

Today: Cloudy w/a slight chance of rain. A high near 48. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy early, then gradually becoming mostly clear. A low around 30.
Tomorrow: Sunny, with a high near 59. SW breeze @ 5-10 mph in the morning.
Tom. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 33.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 60.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy w/a 30 chance of rain after midnight. A low around 41.
Monday: Rain. High near 55. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Monday Night: A 40% chance of rain before midnight. A low around 38.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny & breezy, with a high near 47.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 43. The Low was 31. Last year on this date (Nov. 21st), the High in Atlantic was 40 and the Low was 21. The Record High in Atlantic on 11/21 was 71 in 1990, while the Record Low was -14 in 1937. Sunrise today: 7:15; Sunset is at 4:56.

(Radio Iowa) – A central Iowa entomologist says there may actually be some science behind the folklore about how the thickness of a woolly bear caterpillar’s stripes can help predict the severity of the winter ahead. Ginny Mitchell, of Boone, says a fellow entomologist in New York state studied the fuzzy creatures in the 1940s. “He sampled all of the woolly caterpillars in the area for nine years, and during that time, there was actually some correlation between the markings on the woolly caterpillar and the winter,” Mitchell says, “but that study had a very small sample size, so people do not consider it scientifically factual.” The black-and-brown caterpillars are prevalent in Iowa right now as they’re looking for safe places to spend the winter. As the story goes, Mitchell says the thickness of the caterpillar’s center stripe is key in weather forecasting.

“The rusty, kind of orange color, if that band is really big, that means we’re going to have a mild winter,” Mitchell says. “If the black parts of the woolly caterpillar are very large, it’s going to be a more severe winter. If there is more hair on the woolly caterpillar, then that means that it’s going to be a more severe winter.” There are also theories that if the caterpillar is crawling south when you find it, it’s trying to flee the looming northern cold, and the reverse, if it’s heading north, a mild winter is ahead. At least two communities — Vermilion, Ohio and Banner Elk, North Carolina — have fall festivals devoted to the alleged prognosticating abilities of the woolly bear caterpillar. One remarkable fact, Mitchell says these fuzzy critters hibernate during the wintertime and their bodies contain a sort of natural antifreeze.

“Say you’re out raking leaves or moving some brush and you find one, it will look like it’s dead. It’ll be curled up like a ‘C’ and it won’t be moving very much,” Mitchell says, “but if you take it inside and you warm it up, then it’ll start to move.” There are reports of wooly bear caterpillars surviving temperatures as low as 90-degrees below zero, even spending an entire winter frozen in an ice cube, to emerge just fine in the spring. Once temperatures warm up for the season, it will create a cocoon and emerge a few weeks later as an Alexandra or Isabella tiger moth.

Today: Areas of fog before 11am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 53. Calm wind becoming north northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of rain after 5am. Patchy fog between 11pm and 5am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 39. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts to around 20 mph.
Friday: A 30 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 49. E/NE wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 56.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 44. Our Low this morning (as of 5-a.m.), was 31. Last year on this date (Nov. 20th), the High in Atlantic was 44 and the Low was 27. The Record High in Atlantic on 11/20 was 75 in 1933, while the Record Low was -1 in 1937 & 1985. Sunrise today: 7:14; Sunset is at 4:57.

Today: Patchy drizzle & fog this morning; Cloudy, with a high near 48. Wind S/SW @ around 5-10 mph this afternoon.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38.
Tomorrow: Partly sunny, with a high near 59. N/NW winds around 5-10 mph in the morning.
Tom. Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.
Friday: Cloudy w/a 30% chance of rain, mainly after noon. A high near 50.
Friday Night: A 20% chance of rain before midnight. A low around 35.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 57.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 35.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 58.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 45. The Low was 33. We received a Trace of rain overnight (drizzle). Last year on this date (Nov. 19th), the High in Atlantic was 52 and the Low was 33. The Record High in Atlantic on 11/19 was 73 in 1930, while the Record Low was -1 in 1914. Sunrise today: 7:13; Sunset is at 4:57.

(Radio Iowa) – Some forecasters are raising the possibility of heavy snowfall in Iowa next week, with an especially strong winter wallop for northern Iowa, potentially impacting Thanksgiving travel, but other forecasters are holding off on making a call until later. Meteorologist Dylan Dodson, at the National Weather Service, says Thanksgiving is still a bit too far away to make an accurate prediction.

“Our forecast only goes out seven days,” Dodson says. “Generally, beyond seven days, it gets a little bit more difficult to forecast, because the further you get from the current time, those possibilities start to expand. It’s kind of like that butterfly effect. As you get out further, those chances start to become less certain.” Computer forecasting models from the National Weather Service are -not- projecting anything that would make snowfall for Iowa likely in the six-to-ten day forecast.

“At least through the beginning of next week, we’re looking at above-normal temperatures — normal for this time of year is right around the upper 40s to 50 degrees for the Des Moines area — and then kind of cooler in the north, warmer in the south,” Dodson says, “so, leaning above-normal for temperatures and then also leaning slightly above-normal for precipitation.” With the agency’s eight to 14-day forecast, he says temperatures are trending to near-normal with slightly above-normal precipitation. But is a ten-inch snowfall before Thanksgiving likely?

“I wouldn’t say it’s unlikely at this point. I wouldn’t say it’s likely either,” Dodson says. “It’s just difficult to gauge that at the moment. We’ll be watching the forecast once it starts to get into the seven-day especially. We’ll definitely be starting to look at where the patterns are, but at the moment, there’s too much uncertainty to really hang your hat on anything.”

According to National Weather Service data from 1981 to 2010, the normal date for the first one-inch snowfall in northwest Iowa is between November 10th and 17th, with the first inch of snow typically falling much later in southeastern Iowa, between December 12th and the 19th.

Official NWS spotter reports:

Atlantic (KJAN), .10″

Atlantic (7.1 miles N/NE), .19″

Council Bluffs, .36″

Creston (8.3 miles W/NW of town), .08″

Earling, .35″

Hastings, .01″

Massena, .12″

Missouri Valley, .19″

Mondamin,  .14″

New Market, .01″

Pacific Junction, .04″

Persia, .42″

Stuart (.5″ W/SW), .28″

Thurman, TR (Trace)

Other reports from area media and/or from the public:

Kirkman, .18″

Marne, .25″

Shenandoah, .02″

N. of Neola, .20″

Villisca, .15″

Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Cloudy, with a low around 37.
Tomorrow: Cloudy in the morning; Gradually becoming mostly sunny. High near 54. Winds S/SW @ 5-10.
Tom. Night: Partly cloudy. A low around 38.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 58.
Thursday Night: A 30% chance of rain, mainly after midnight. A low around 35.
Friday: A 40% chance of rain. A high near 46.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 58. Our Low this morning was 33. We received .10″ rain overnight. Last year on this date (Nov. 18th), the High in Atlantic was 62 and the Low was 44. The Record High in Atlantic on 11/18 was 72 in 1999, while the Record Low was 0 in 1891. Sunrise today: 7:121; Sunset is at 4:58.

Today: Increasing clouds; Breezy, w/a 20% chance of rain. A high near 55. Winds SE @ 15-30 mph.
Tonight: A 40% chance of showers & thunderstorms. Low around 39. East winds 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tom. Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 56.
Wednesday Night: A 30% chance of rain, mainly after midnight, and a low around 41.
Thursday: A 30% chance of rain, w/thunderstorms after noon. A high near 58.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 55. The Low was 28. Last year on this date (Nov. 17th), the High in Atlantic was 54 and the Low was 35. The Record High in Atlantic on 11/17 was 73 in 1941, while the Record Low was -2 in 1959. Sunrise today: 7:11; Sunset is at 4:59.