The National Weather Service in Johnston says record to near record highs are likely for this Christmas Day across much of central and southern Iowa, with highs in the 50’s to near 60. Temperatures will be a bit cooler over northern Iowa. A cold front will move through tonight and will drop highs into the 30’s and 40’s for Thursday and Friday.

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A storm system will arrive this weekend with mainly rain Friday night and Saturday followed by a transition to snow Saturday night and Sunday. Some snow accumulations are possible, especially across northern Iowa. A large amount of variability remains for this system therefore, any snowfall predictions remain low confidence. Stay tuned for future updates regarding the weekend storm system.

Today (Christmas Day): Patchy fog this morning; Partly cloudy. High 55. S @ 10-15.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low 30. NW @ 5-10.

Thursday: P/Cldy. High 45. NW @ 10-15.

Friday: P/Cldy. High 45.

Saturday: Cloudy w/a chance of rain. High 42.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 53. Our Low was 30. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 46 and the Low was 26. The record High for Dec. 25th in Atlantic, was 56 in 1922. The Record Low was -20 in 1983.

Today: Areas of fog this morning; Partly cloudy. High 55. S @ 10-15.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low 35. S @ 5-10.

Christmas Day: P/Cldy. High 55. S @ 10-15.

Thursday: P/Cldy. High 45.

Friday: P/Cldy. High 45.

Monday’s High in Atlantic, was 53. Our Low was 30. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 42 and the Low was 19. The record High for Dec. 24th in Atlantic, was 55 in 1893 & 1964. The Record Low was -23 in 1983.

(Radio Iowa) — If you are dreaming of a WARM Christmas — your dream is going to come true. National Weather Service meteorologist Brooke Hagenhoff says temperatures in the 50s will be the norm the next couple of days. “We got a little taste of it here this weekend with some 50s and that will continue at least through midweek here — Wednesday at least until Thursday — and then things will start to cool off again,” Hagenhoff says.

The forecast is calling for a high in the mid 50s on Christmas day. “It’s pretty unusual. Normal highs for this time of year are generally in the low 30s. The record high — at least for Christmas Day in Des Moines was 38 — and that was in 1936,” according the Hagenhoff. She says a small area in the far northern portion of the state is the only place that might not see the 50’s.

“While we’re not quite going to get to those record highs — we are certainly much warmer than normal. It’s pretty rare to be this warm around the holiday season.” Hagenhoff talks about the weather pattern that’s causing the warmth. “We’ve got a pretty big ridge of what we call high pressure, and that’s allowed for a lot of southerly flow up out of Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. So, a lot of the central U-S, across a lot of the central U-S and even into some of the northern plains, which as allowed for temperatures to really soar through a lot of this week,” Hagenhoff says.

Temperatures toward the end of the week will fall a bit and there is a chance for some snow. She says the system will hit late this week into the weekend and drop temperatures closer to normal, which could include a little bit of snow or rain. Hagenhoff says the precipitation mix could hit right around the time people are heading back from Christmas visits.

“Anyone that has travel plans here for the weekend is going to want to keep an eye on this. We don’t have quite the details we want yet, just because it is several days out. So, it will be something to keep an eye on as we fine tune the forecast for the weekend,” she says. One thing she is sure of — those who procrastinated in their Christmas shopping won’t have to worry about going out in wintry weather.

“Any last minute shopping runs that people need to make should have excellent weather for that,” Hagenhoff says, “Nice and warm and dry.” But those who like a White Christmas will have to wait until next year.

Today: Areas of fog this morning; Partly cloudy. High 53. S @ 10-15.

Tonight: Fair to Partly cloudy. Low 30. Winds light & variable.

Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 51. S @ 5-10.

Christmas Day: Mo. Cldy w/isolated light showers. High 49.

Thursday: P/Cldy. High 47.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic, was 52. Our Low this morning 32. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 41 and the Low was 18. The record High for Dec. 23rd in Atlantic, was 62 in 1964. The Record Low was -22 in 1983.

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 57. South southwest wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. South southwest wind 8 to 10 mph.

Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 53. South southwest wind 7 to 9 mph.

Monday Night: Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. South wind 5 to 7 mph.

Tuesday: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. South wind around 6 mph.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Christmas Day: Partly sunny, with a high near 47.

Skyscan Forecast  Saturday, December 21, 2019  Dan Hicks

Today: Patchy fog early, then partly sunny. SW @ 10-20. High 50.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. S @ 5-10. Low 28.

Sunday: Mostly sunny. SW @ 10-20. High 55.

Sunday night: Partly cloudy. Low 31.

Monday: Partly cloudy. High 53.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High 49.

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Today: Areas of fog this morning; Partly cloudy. High 48. S @ 10-15.

Tonight: Fair to Partly cloudy. Low 25. S @ 5.

Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. High 50. S @ 10-20.

Sunday: Mo. Sunny. High 53.

Monday: P/Cldy. High near 50.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic, was 48. Our Low was 22. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 37 and the Low was 28. The record High for Dec. 20th in Atlantic, was 61 in 1941. The Record Low was -25 in 1901.

Today: Areas of fog this morning; Mostly sunny. High 50. SW @ 15-25.

Tonight: Fair to Partly cloudy. Low 28. S @ 5-10.

Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 47. S @ 10-15.

Saturday: P/Cldy. High 50.

Sunday: P/Cldy. High around 52.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic, was 35. Our Low was 9. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 50 and the Low was 34. The record High for Dec. 19th in Atlantic, was 58 in 1966. The Record Low was -33 in 1983.