The National Weather Service has issued a WIND ADVISORY for the entire KJAN listening area, effect 10-a.m. today (Monday) until 7-p.m.

The strongest winds will arrive around or just before noon and persist through the afternoon until close to sunset.  Wind Speeds of near 30 mph with gusts to near 45 mph at times. Stronger winds of up to 50mph can be expected in the far west/southwest Counties.

The strong winds and dry surface fuels will lead to a very high fire danger today and open burning is discouraged. Strong crosswinds will also affect vehicles on east-west roads, especially those with high profiles.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A Wind Advisory means that sustained winds of 30 mph or wind gusts of 45 mph or greater are expected. Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.

Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees reports the compost/burn pile near the Schildberg Recreation Area is closed effective 2:45-p.m. Sunday (Today) until further notice, due to the strong winds and risk of embers. KJAN will let you know when the compost/burn pile is available for use.

Today: Sunny & windy. High near 72. S/SW winds 10-20mph w/gusts to near 35.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy & windy, w/a 20% chance of Isolated showers & thunderstorms after midnight. Low around 56. S/SE @ 15-30mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny & windy. High near 80. S @ 15-25 w/gusts to near 40 mph.
Monday Night: Mo. Cldy & windy, w/a 20% chance of showers & thunderstorms after midnight. Low around 61. S @ 15-35mph.
Tuesday: Mo. Cldy & breezy, w/a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. High 78. S/SW @ 15-30. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tuesday Night: A 70% chance of showers & thunderstorms through midnight. Low 54. New rainfall of between 1-and 2-inches is possible.
Wednesday: Mo. Cldy w/a 40% chance of showers & thunderstorms. High near 71.

Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 66. Our Low 37. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 45 and the Low was 39. The Record High in Atlantic on April 29th was set in 1987 at 93. The Record Low was 22 in 1958.

Skyscan Forecast   Saturday, April 28, 2018   Richard Garuckas

Today: Mostly sunny. High 64. NE @ 5-10.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Cold. Low 39. SE @ 5-10.

Sunday: Mostly sunny. Breezy. High 71. SE @ 10-20, gusting to 30mph.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low 58.

Monday: Chance of showers in the morning. Partly cloudy. Very warm. High 80.

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy. Showers and thunderstorms likely. High 77.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. Showers likely. High 70.

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Crawford-Carroll-Audubon-Guthrie-Cass-Adair-Adams-Union-Taylor-Ringgold
242 PM CDT Fri Apr 27 2018

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR
EXTREME FIRE CONDITIONS....

The National Weather Service in Des Moines has issued a Red Flag
Warning FOR EXTREME FIRE CONDITIONS, which is in effect until
7 PM CDT this evening.

* SHORT TERM TRENDS...Extreme fire conditions are expected to
  continue this afternoon into the early evening hours.

* WIND...West to northwest at 25 to 30 mph gusting to 40 mph.

* Relative Humidity...Around 15 to 25 percent.

* FUEL...Very dry grasses, nearly 100 percent cured.

* Impacts...Open burning is discouraged and any fires could
  spread quickly and grow out of control due to the extreme fire
  conditions.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can
contribute to extreme fire behavior.

AREA COUNTIES: Sac-Crawford-Carroll-Audubon-Guthrie-Dallas-Cass-Adair-Madison-Adams-Union-Taylor-Ringgold...
1111 AM CDT Fri Apr 27 2018

…Very High Fire Danger Today…

Gusty wind and dry conditions will lead to a very high fire danger today, particularly during the afternoon hours. West winds will turn toward northwest and gradually increase as a cool front drops across Iowa. Winds will increase to 20 to 25 mph with gusts to near 35 mph at times before diminishing toward sunset. In addition, relative humidity will be very low this afternoon, in the 25 to 35 percent range, and most surface grasses are dry. This will allow any fires that ignite to spread rapidly, and burning is discouraged.

A warning today from the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency. Operations Officer Jason Wickizer says “We are continuing in the HIGH category however we will be approaching Red Flag Criteria, which are Relative Humidity below 20%, and winds greater than 15MPH. Our current Fire Behavior prediction is 7 foot flame length or greater, Probability of ignition greater than 60%, and Rates of Spread at or greater than 100 yards per minute.  We will also be experiencing a wind shift that could cause control issues.”

Wickizer said “Today and tomorrow will not be good days to burn due to Control, and spread issues.  Please keep this in mind if people call in asking to burn.  The greatest risk today is Spread Potential due to receptive fuels being cured and in line with winds.” Conditions he said, should begin to Moderate Saturday evening.

Warm spring weather has been slow to spread across Iowa and the rest of the Northern Plains, causing costly delays for planting, construction and other outdoor activities. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub, says changes are underway in the major climate drivers. “We are transitioning between La Nina and potential El Nino, so, a large part of what you’re seeing here is trapped,” Todey says. “There is this noted warming hole over the middle part of the country in the middle part of summer, so that’s what is coming into play here.”

La Nina patterns often bring cooler temperatures along with more storms in some areas and droughts elsewhere. El Nino patterns typically do the opposite. Due to the extended cold weather, many Iowa farmers are a couple of weeks behind in planting and Todey says it will take quite a while to get back to normal growing conditions.  “The catching up cannot happen during the early part of the summer,” he says. “Above-average temperatures, middle part of the summer don’t do much to catch us up in the way of growing degree days.”

Todey says there is no single cause for the prolonged winter we’ve seen across much of the region in recent weeks. “There is a little bit of La Nina influence still because we still are in La Nina,” he says, “but there’s not one indicator. There’s a combination of several different things that has locked into it.”

Many areas in the region have set all-time April records for snow and cold temperatures. The Midwest Climate Hub is based in Ames.

(Radio Iowa)

Today: Partly cloudy & breezy. High 72. W-NW @ 10-20.

Tonight: Fair to P/Cldy. Low 35. N @ 10.

Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. High 65. SE @ 10.

Sunday: P/Cldy. High 72.

Monday: A chance of showers in the morning, otherwise P/Cldy. High 79.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 72. Our Low this morning (as of 5:45-a.m.) was 30. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 57 and the Low was 36. The Record High for this date in Atlantic was 90, in 1989. The Record Low was 23 in 1950.

Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert reports, the local fire Danger will remain HIGH through Monday. If you plan to burn, PLEASE, contact your local Fire Chief.   Seivert says they have had several fire dispatches in the last few days where the volunteers are called from home and work to respond to a fire, only to arrive and find someone has started a controlled burn, and not called their local Fire Chief or Emergency Management 911. He asks persons planning a controlled burn, to “Please respect the time our volunteers spend protecting your property. Plan your burn in advance, use a burn plan, and call in prior to starting. 712-755-2124.”

Seivert warns also, that the chances for severe weather are expected to increase next week, so be prepared for weather bulletins and to take cover when warnings are issued.