(Atlantic, Iowa – KJAN) – Weather data for the month of November, 2023 in Atlantic, show the Average High for the month was 54, which was almost 10-degrees warmer than normal. The Average Low was 24, which was 3 degrees warmer than the norm. Rainfall for the month amounted slightly more than one-quarter of an inch (.28″), which was the result of combined rain and melted snow (2.0″). The total liquid value was nearly 1.6-inches below what we would typically receive during the month. The data was compiled at KJAN, the official National Weather Serving reporting site for Atlantic.

Looking ahead, we find the Average High for the month of December, in Atlantic, should be 33 degrees, while the Low should average out to 14. Precipitation (rain & or melted snow) is typically just 1.11 inches.

Weather data is compiled and recorded at KJAN, the official National Weather Service reporting site for Atlantic.

Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. North northeast wind 5 to 15 mph.
Tonight: Cloudy to partly cloudy, with a low around 24. N/NE @ 5.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. S @ 5-10 mph.
Saturday Night: Mo. Cloudy w/a 20% chance of rain before midnight. Low around 24. South wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 40.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 44.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 49. The Low was 25. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 49 and the Low was 23. The Record High on December 1st in Atlantic, was 67, in 1998. The Record Low was -10 in 1892. Sunrise is at 7:26. Sunset at 4:51.

(Radio Iowa) – There’s the potential for precipitation in southeast Iowa tonight, but State Climatologist Justin Glisan says it’s likely this November will rank among the 20 driest Novembers on record. “The first 20 days we were at 5% of normal, so a very dry first two-thirds of November,” Glisan says. As of this morning, the statewide average for precipitation is just four-tenths of an inch. “That’s almost an inch and a half below average,” Glisan says.

This is the 178th week of moderate drought somewhere in Iowa — the longest drought in Iowa since the U.S. Drought Monitor was launched 23 years ago. “If you combine November with the other meteorological months of October and September, it looks like around the 36th driest fall on record,” Glisan says. “Interestingly enough, last fall was drier. It was the 22nd driest, so you can see that we’ve just really stacked up precipitation deficits through various seasons.” Last spring was the 16th driest on record and this past summer was the 17th driest summer in the past 151 years. “When you’re not getting the expected precipitation in spring and summer, which is the dominant season for rainfall that supplies soil moisture and stream flows, that’s where we’ve seen the drought just expand and intensify,” Glisan says.

State Climatologist Justin Glisan (Official photo from Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship photo.)

The current drought is different from the droughts that struck Iowa in 2012 and 1988, according to Glisan. “This has definitely been longer, but it hasn’t been coupled with extremely warm temperatures for long periods of time,” Glisan says, “so we’ve kind of termed this drought a ‘cool drought’ in that, again, we haven’t seen those exceedingly warm temperatures that would really push drought conditions to lead to widespread crop failure and things of that nature.”

Glisan says there are some positives in preliminary forecasts for the middle of December. “There’s a very high probability of above average temperatures,” Glisan says, “and why that’s a good signal to see is perhaps we won’t see soils freeze as deep or as fast if we have warm temperatures through December.” It means precipitation could be absorbed rather than run off frozen ground.”As you’ll remember from last year, in early December we had widespread rainfall before we froze up that really helped supply moisture for this growing season,” Glisan says. “Also, wetter soils don’t freeze as fast or as deep, so as we get into winter melt into early spring, there’s faster infiltration if we don’t have a deep frost level.”

Preliminary forecasts indicate there are slightly elevated signals for wetter conditions in December.

Today: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 43. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph becoming north northeast in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. Blustery, with a northeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. North northeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36.
Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of snow, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 39.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 48. The Low was 19. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 28 and the Low was 8. The Record High on Nov. 30th in Atlantic, was 66, in 1922. The Record Low was -10 in 1964. Sunrise is at 7:25. Sunset at 4:51.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 46. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, with a high near 40. West southwest wind 5 to 15 mph becoming north northeast in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Tom. Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. North northeast wind 10-20 mph.
Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 37.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 36. The Low was 5. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 36 and the Low was 15. The Record High on Nov. 29th in Atlantic, was 71, in 1998. The Record Low was -8 in 1891. Sunrise is at 7:24. Sunset at 4:51.

(Radio Iowa) – Temperatures are going to warm up in Iowa as we hit midweek. National Weather Service meteorologist, Alexis Jimenez, says temperatures will be more normal. “With highs tomorrow in the low to mid 40s. And then kind of dropping off into the 40s, low 40s again on Thursday, with a passing system and with some rain to the far southeast,” she says. Those temperatures would melt the snow, and that helps keep things warmer.

“Certainly with snow on the ground it keeps our temperatures lower a little bit, but once we push above freezing, that snow melts off and that effect kind of goes away,” Jimenez says. Jimenez says there doesn’t appear to be any big cold stretches coming up for now. “We’ll just sort of just trend on those lower temperatures as we get into December and approach the winter months here. But thankfully, generally we’re going to be near average for the foreseeable future,” she says.

Jimenez works out of the Johnston office and says the monthly snow total for Des Moines is running a little ahead of average. “The normal value is right at two inches for the month and we’ve had two-point-six inches so far. So we’re right on par with what we would usually want to see. November is generally a pretty dry month is because it’s getting into that colder season,” Jimenez says.

She says we might get some more snow into late Saturday into Sunday, especially for northern Iowa.

Today: Mostly sunny & breezy. High near 38. S @ 10-20mph w/gusts to near 25. Wind chill values as low as 5.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 22. South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming westerly after midnight.
Tomorrow: Sunny, with a high near 44. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 40.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 32. Our Low this morning, 6. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 53 and the Low was 24. The Record High on Nov. 28th in Atlantic, was 63, in 1941.  The Record Low was -16 in 1952. Sunrise is at 7:23. Sunset at 4:52.

Today: Increasing clouds w/a chance of flurries. High near 34. W/NW winds 10-20 mph. Wind chill values as low as 5.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 11. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable after midnight.

Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36. S/SW @ 10-20. Wind chill values as low as 5.

Tom. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 20. South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 45.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 37. Our Low this morning was 6. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 48, and the Low was 13. The Record High on Nov. 27th in Atlantic, was 69 in 1998. The Record Low was 1 in 1898. Sunrise is at 7:22. Sunset is 4:52.

Here are 24-hour reported snowfall amounts in southwest/western Iowa (ending 7-a.m. Sunday, 11/16/23):

Atlantic (KJAN) 2.0″

Atlantic (7 miles N/NE), 1.3″

Logan, .3″

Massena, 2.0″

Minden, 2.2″

Council Bluffs, 3.1″

New Market, 2.2″

Cromwell, 3.1″

Mondamin, .4″

Bagley, 1.0″

Brayton, 1.3″

Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 34. Wind chill values as low as 10. Windy, with a northwest wind 7 to 12 mph increasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 14. Wind chill values as low as 5. West wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Tomorrow: Sunny, with a high near 34. Wind chill values as low as 5. West northwest wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tom. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 11. West northwest wind 3 to 7 mph.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 38.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 22.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 45.

Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 30. Our Low this morning was 19. We received 2 inches of snow at the KJAN studios from late Saturday morning through early Sunday. That melted into .15″ liquid value. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 57, and the Low was 33. The Record High on Nov. 26th in Atlantic, was 69 in 1960. The Record Low was -9 in 1898. Sunrise is at 7:21. Sunset is 4:53.