The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency has reduced the County Fire Danger level from “medium,” to “LOW.”  An abundance of moisture over the next couple of days should reduced the threat of any controlled burns becoming out of control. The next field & grassland conditions Fire Index will be released on Thursday.

Page IA-Fremont IA-Montgomery IA-
743 AM CDT MON MAR 26 2018

…Special Weather Statement…

At 742 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Blanchard, or 14 miles northeast of Tarkio, moving northeast at 50
mph.

Pea to half inch hail and winds in excess of 30 mph will be possible
with this storm.

Locations impacted include…
Clarinda, Coin, College Springs, Shambaugh, Braddyville, Yorktown,
Northboro, Blanchard and Hepburn.

This includes Highway 59 in Iowa near mile marker 1.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.

This is Severe Weather Awareness Week as Iowans are reminded how to prepare for and respond to storms, tornadoes, flooding and more. Meteorologist Ken Podrazek, with the National Weather Service in metro Des Moines, says severe storms typically hit during two times of day, but they can strike at any time. “There’s two different peaks, sometime in the late afternoon between 4 and 6 P-M, and then a secondary peak during the overnight hours around midnight,” Podrazek says. “That’s when we get into the low level jet and get the overnight thunderstorms that race across the state.”

Severe storms are more frequent during the spring and early summer months, but they can strike during any time of the year. There were 55 tornadoes in Iowa last year, seven more than the average of 48. Podrazek says tornado warnings should be taken very seriously.  “Any time there’s a tornado warning issued, you definitely need to take cover,” he says. “Even if you think it might go north or south of you, it’s good practice to always get to safety.” A statewide tornado drill is scheduled for Wednesday morning. A test tornado watch will be issued at 10 A-M, followed by a test tornado warning. Podrazek says it’s an opportunity to develop plans on where you’d go in the event a real tornado warning is issued.  “This is a great time for local businesses and schools to practice their severe weather preparedness plan and to actually get to safety,” he says.

Another major concern in Iowa is flooding, which is one of the leading weather-related killers. “It’s resulted in 84 deaths per year throughout the United States,” he says. “That’s higher than tornadoes, higher than lightning, higher than winter storms. The only one that’s ahead of it is heat-related fatalities. As far as thunderstorm-related, flooding and flashing flooding, that’s the biggest one that kills people.” More than half those flooding deaths happen in motor vehicles when people try to drive across a water-covered roadway.  “We always say ‘Turn Around, Don’t Drown’ and we absolutely mean it,” Podrazek says. “A lot of times you see water over the road, you don’t know how deep that is, how fast it’s going, if the road is intact. It doesn’t take a whole lot of water to sweep an adult off their feet and it doesn’t take a whole lot of water to move a vehicle either.”

Podrazek says flooded roads are worse at night when your vision is more limited. He notes, just six inches of fast-moving water can knock over and carry off an adult, while 12 inches of water can float a smaller car, and if the water is moving, it can carry the car away. Some 18 to 24 inches of flowing water can carry away most vehicles, including large SUVs. Learn more about Severe Weather Awareness Week at weather-dot-gov.

(Radio Iowa)

Today: Cloudy w/rain. High 46. SE-N @ 10-15.
Tonight: Cloudy. Showers ending. Low 32. NW @ 5-10.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 51. Variable breeze @ 5-10.
Wednesday: P/Cloudy. High around 60.
Thursday: Mo. Cldy & cooler. High 49.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 44. Our Low this morning 31. We received a Trace of rain Sunday afternoon at the KJAN Studios. Last year on this date our High was 48 and the Low was 39. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 88 in 1907. The Record Low was -2, in 1955.

Winter just doesn’t seem to want to leave the state. The National Weather Service in Des Moines says another round of winter precipitation (this time in the form of freezing rain) is forecast late tonight into Monday morning over portions of Iowa. Expect a wintry mix late tonight over western Iowa and then to spread east northeast by sunrise Monday morning, affecting the morning commute. The freezing rain is likely to end by the late morning as surface temperatures rise above freezing. Ice accumulation amounts should be a light glaze in the central to southeast to a tenth to near 0.15 inches over the northwest quarter of the State.

The icy conditions are expected to impact mainly elevated surfaces such as tree limbs and powerlines. However, any untreated roads, sidewalks, and other outdoor surfaces will become ice-covered and slippery. There is a potential to cause some tricky travel during the Monday morning commute, especially over northwest Iowa. If you live in the potentially impacted area, be prepared for increased travel times Monday morning and travel with extra caution.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and the National Weather Service have designated March 26th through March 30th as Severe Weather Awareness Week. Knowing when severe weather is possible will give you time to prepare! (Learn more at https://www.weather.gov/dmx/)

Each day during Severe Weather Awareness Week, the National Weather Service in Des Moines will cover severe weather topics:
Monday: Severe Thunderstorms
Tuesday: Receiving Warning Information
Wednesday: Tornadoes
Thursday: Family Preparedness
Friday: Flooding

If no severe weather is occurring or expected, the National Weather Service will
conduct a Tornado Drill on Wednesday, March 28th, between 10 and 11 a.m. The purpose of this drill is to ensure that Iowans can adequately receive a Tornado
Warning and can practice any actions that would be taken in the event of a real
tornado. The timeline for the drill is as follows:

Test Tornado Drill: Wednesday, March 28th at 10 AM (Primary Backup Date Thursday, March 29th at 10 AM, Secondary Backup Date Friday, March 30th at 10 AM)

Around 10:00 AM – A Test Tornado Watch will be issued for Iowa

Around 10:15 AM – A Test Tornado Warning will be issued for Iowa

10:35 AM – Test Tornado Warning for Iowa expires

11:00 AM – Test tornado watch expires

Today: Cloudy. High near 42. East southeast wind 10-20 mph.
Tonight: Mostly Cloudy w/a 40% chance of rain, with thunderstorms also possible after 4-a.m. Monday. Low around 35. East wind 10 to 15 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Monday: Showers & possibly a thunderstorm. High near 47. E/SE wind 15-25 mph. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Monday Night: Showers & possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 35. East winds @ 5-10 becoming N/NW after midnight. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48. North northwest wind 10-20 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 60.
Wed. Night: A slight rain after midnight, possibly becoming mixed w/snow. Low 31.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 48.

Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 35. We received .01″ of precipitation during the day, in a combination of light rain/drizzle and a brief snow shower. Our Low this morning (as of 6-a.m.,) was 31. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 43 and the Low was 39. The All-Time Record High in Atlantic on March 25th, was 91 in 1907, and the Record Low was 5, in 1894.

The National Weather Service in Des Moines says a strong weather system is moving east over the state early today. Rain will mix and change to snow central with heavy snow and near-blizzard conditions across the north. The storm will slow down this morning and produce snowfall amounts of 1 or more inches per hour across the north and northeast and farther south later this morning. Travel is discouraged today – especially over much of northern, eastern, northeastern and northwest Iowa. Southern Minnesota is also getting heavy snow today. Stay safe – Stay home. For the latest road conditions go to 511ia.org, or call 511.

Today: A rain-snow mix this morning before changing to all rain. High near 35. NE @ 15-25. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Low around 29. E/NE wind @ 10-20mph.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. E/SE wind 10-20mph.
Sunday Night: A 40% chance of showers & thunderstorms. Low around 35.
Monday: An 80% chance of showers & thunderstorms. High near 50.New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Monday Night: A 70% chance of shwrs & tstrms. Low around 38.
Tuesday: A 20% chance of rain before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47.

Friday’s High in Atlantic was 49. Our Low this morning (as of 5:30-a.m.) was 33. We received .45” of rain through 5:30-a.m., today, at the KJAN Studios. Last year on this date our High was 56 and the Low was 40. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 83 in 1967. The Record Low was -2, in 1974.

Cass County Emergency Management Director Mike Kennon reports the Cities of Atlantic, Lewis and Griswold will be testing their Outdoor Warning sirens each Friday at Noon, beginning today (Friday, 3/23). Anyone who notices a defective or improperly operating siren, should contact the Cass County Emergency Management Agency at 712-254-1500.