Iowans are enduring much colder-than-normal, snowy weather for the last half of fall, and while there’s a little relief in sight for the weekend, the winter ahead is still a toss-up. Jeff Zogg, senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Johnston, says they’ve re-run all of their computer models to get a glimpse at December through February and so far, it’s 50-50.

“We’re calling for equal chances for temperature,” Zogg says. “That means there’s really no strong signal of above-, near- or below-normal temperatures. For precipitation, generally equal chances, maybe a little bit of a dry signal across the eastern part of the state.” Armchair prognosticators may claim this current cold spell could be a sign of a bitter, blizzard-filled season ahead, while other say it’s an indicator a warmer winter is on the way. Zogg says nobody really knows at this point.

“When you go back and look at past winters, really the temperature trends that you see in November really have very little if any predictability as to the rest of the winter,” Zogg says. “Yes, we have been quite cold for the first part of November but that would not necessarily translate into a certain trend for the rest of the winter.” While much of Iowa should see highs in the 40s this weekend — a nice change from the 20s — but the travel forecast for Thanksgiving looks dicey.

“This weekend, we’re looking for a warm-up, even a chance of rainfall on Saturday and Sunday,” Zogg says. “Temperatures will be warm enough for rain but there is the potential for some additional unsettled weather next week, particularly towards Thanksgiving. We’re seeing the potential for below-normal temperatures again, maybe another system to bring us some rain or snow.” Stay tuned in to the latest forecast at weather-dot-gov.

(Radio Iowa)

355 AM CST FRI NOV 21 2014

EARLY THIS MORNING…PARTLY CLOUDY. SOUTHEAST WIND NEAR 10 MPH.

TODAY…MOSTLY SUNNY IN THE MORNING THEN BECOMING MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGH IN THE MID 30S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

TONIGHT…CLOUDY. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN AND LIGHT FREEZING RAIN IN THE EVENING…THEN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN OVERNIGHT. PATCHY FOG THROUGH THE NIGHT. NOT AS COLD. LOW IN THE LOWER 30S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 20 PERCENT.

SATURDAY…CLOUDY…WARMER. PATCHY DRIZZLE IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE MID 40S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN. AREAS OF FOG. NOT AS COOL. LOW IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

SUNDAY…CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN. HIGH IN THE UPPER 40S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST AROUND 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW. BREEZY…COLDER. LOW IN THE UPPER 20S.

MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. BREEZY…COLDER. HIGH IN THE LOWER 30S. LOW 17 TO 27.

345 AM CST THU NOV 20 2014

EARLY THIS MORNING…MOSTLY CLOUDY. COLDER. NORTHWEST WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

TODAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 20S. NORTHWEST WIND AROUND 5 MPH.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW AROUND 15. SOUTHEAST WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

FRIDAY...PARTLY SUNNY UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON THEN BECOMING CLOUDY. HIGH IN THE MID 30S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT FREEZING RAIN THROUGH MIDNIGHT…THEN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN AND LIGHT FREEZING RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT. PATCHY FOG THROUGH THE NIGHT. NOT AS COLD. LOW IN THE LOWER 30S. SOUTH WIND AROUND 10 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 20 PERCENT.

SATURDAY…CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN. PATCHY FOG. HIGH IN THE MID 40S. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN. AREAS OF FOG. LOW IN THE UPPER 30S.

SUNDAY…CLOUDY WITH A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN. HIGH IN THE UPPER 40S.

AREA COUNTIES: SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-CASS-
434 AM CST WED NOV 19 2014

…A BRIEF PERIOD OF STRONG WINDS EARLY THIS MORNING…

A COLD FRONT IS PUSHING SOUTHEAST ACROSS IOWA EARLY THIS MORNING. RIGHT BEHIND THE FRONT…A STRONG PUSH OF COOLER AIR IS CAUSING WINDS TO INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 MPH AT TIMES WITH GUSTS BRIEFLY TO 40 MPH. THIS MAY CAUSE SOME MINOR BLOWING SNOW NORTH OF HIGHWAY 20 EARLY TODAY. THE STRONGER WINDS WILL LAST FOR A FEW HOURS BEFORE REMAINING NEAR 15 TO 20 MPH FOR MOST OF THE AFTERNOON HOURS WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 35 MPH AT TIMES.

HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES MAY EXPERIENCE SOME BRIEF DIFFICULTY DRIVING EARLY TODAY ACROSS AREA HIGHWAYS. PATCHY BLOWING SNOW NORTHWEST MAY BRIEFLY COAT ROADS WITH SNOW…AND CAUSE A FEW SLIPPERY STRETCHES. DRIVE CAREFULLY AND ALLOW EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION SAFELY.

330 AM CST WED NOV 19 2014

EARLY THIS MORNING…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. NOT AS COLD. SCATTERED FLURRIES. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 20 MPH.

TODAY…PARTLY SUNNY. BREEZY. SCATTERED FLURRIES THROUGH MID MORNING. HIGH IN THE UPPER 20S. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. COLDER. LOW AROUND 10. WEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

THURSDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 20S. NORTHWEST WINDAROUND 5 MPH.

THURSDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW AROUND 15. SOUTHEAST WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

FRIDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGH IN THE MID 30S. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY. NOT AS COLD. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF FREEZING DRIZZLE. LOW AROUND 30.

SATURDAY…CLOUDY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 40S.

The Freese-Notis weather forecast for the KJAN listening area & weather information for Atlantic.

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(Updated 4-a.m./NWS Des Moines)

Today – Mostly sunny, with a high near 24. Wind chill values as low as -10. West wind 9 to 13 mph becoming south southwest in the afternoon.
Tonight – Mostly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 21. Wind chill values as low as 5. South southwest wind 10 to 14 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday – Partly sunny, with a high near 26. Wind chill values as low as 5. Blustery, with a northwest wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
Wednesday Night – Partly cloudy, with a low around 10. Wind chill values as low as zero. West northwest wind 6 to 10 mph.
Thursday – Mostly sunny, with a high near 28. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
Friday – Mostly sunny, with a high near 30.

The Freese-Notis weather forecast for the KJAN listening area, and weather information for Atlantic.

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357 AM CST MON NOV 17 2014

EARLY THIS MORNING…MOSTLY CLOUDY. NORTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.

TODAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. WINDY. PATCHY BLOWING SNOW IN THE MORNING. SCATTERED FLURRIES THROUGH THE DAY. HIGH AROUND 15. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. VERY COLD. LOW ZERO TO 5 ABOVE. WEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH THROUGH MIDNIGHT. WIND CHILL READINGS AROUND 15 BELOW.

TUESDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. VERY COLD. HIGH IN THE MID 20S. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

TUESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. NOT AS COLD. LOW 15 TO 20. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH SHIFTING TO THE WEST AFTER MIDNIGHT. GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH.

WEDNESDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. BREEZY. HIGH IN THE MID 20S. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 20 MPH.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW AROUND 10. HIGH IN THE UPPER 20S.

Today – Partly sunny to sunny. High near 20. W/SW winds 10-20 mph. Wind chill values as low as -5.
Tonight – Mostly cloudy & blustery. Low around 5. NW winds at 10-25 mph. Wind chill values as low as -10.
Monday – Partly sunny w/patchy blowing snow & scattered flurries. A high near 14. NW winds at 15-35 mph. Wind chill values as low as -15.
Monday Night – Partly cloudy & blustery. Low around -1. W/NW winds 10-15. Wind chill values as low as -15.
Tuesday – Mostly sunny. A high near 23. West winds 10-15 mph becoming south southwest in the afternoon.
Wednesday – Mostly sunny & blustery, with a high near 26.