Today: Cloudy through mid-morning w/a slight chance of rain; Gradually become mostly clear. Windy. High near 56. W/NW winds 15-30 w/afternoon gusts to near 40 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear & blustery, with a low around 30. W/NW @ 15-30 decreasing to around 10 mph after midnight.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 58. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
Mon. Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. Breezy.
Tue. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 33.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 63.
Wed. Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42.

Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 64. The Low was 18. Last year on this date (3/23) the High in Atlantic was 38 & the Low was 21. The Record High was 86 in 1910. The Record Low was -6 in 1912. Sunrise: 7:21; Sunset: 7:34.

Today: Partly cloudy to cloudy & breezy. A high near 63. S/SE winds at 15-25 mph. .
Tonight: Mostly cloudy with isolated showers after midnight. Low around 40. Winds S @ 15-30 mph.
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny & windy. A high near 56. W/NW winds 15-40 mph. .
Tom. Night: Mostly clear & blustery, with a low around 30. W/NW winds 15-30 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 58.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny & breezy, with a high near 60.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 33.

Friday’s High in Atlantic was 58. The Low this morning was 19. Last year on this date (3/22) the High in Atlantic was 52 & the Low was 24. The Record High was 88 in 1938. The Record Low was -7 in 1960. Sunrise: 7:22; Sunset: 7:33.

(Radio Iowa) – The blizzard this week saw thousands of people left without electricity and trigger a big response from the state’s largest utility company. MidAmerican spokesman Geoff Greenwood says they had some 97 utility crews and another 61 tree crews who responded. “When we have such a large response, it’s kind of an orchestra, and we do have a conductor who is overseeing all of the operations, but then we have people in the field as well who are coordinating with our control center,” Greenwood says. He says they also have field coordinators who help get crews in place. “Making sure that they’re at the right location, making sure that lines are not energized so we can work safely on those lines, and then making sure that they’ve got the right equipment and personnel,” he says. “And then once we get that repair, we coordinate back with the control room to let them know that circuit is okay to turn back on again, and then that’s what the control room coordinates as well.”

Greenwood says the crews work long hours in tough situations, so it’s important to get them in the right place. “We are also making sure that they are getting breaks and that they’re getting food water and rest and just making sure that everybody is working safely and is okay,” he says. Greenwood says they brought in several crews from other states to help with this response.

Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative Facebook page photo (3-20-25)

“In situations where we have crews coming in from outside of our service area, we are making sure that they are briefed on the situation, that they know where to go and what needs to be assessed and repaired, and then we’re making sure that they have adequate food and water resources and that they’ve also got a place to sleep,” Greenwood says.

He says crews from Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Nebraska, and Wisconsin came to Iowa to help with this storm.

Today: Partly sunny & windy w/a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5pm. A High near 56. S/SW winds at 15-35 mph this morning becoming W/NW this afternoon.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy w/a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms this evening. Gradually becoming mostly clear. Low around 25. NW winds 10-25 mph becoming light and variable after midnight.

Tomorrow: Increasing clouds. Breezy. A high near 60. S/SE winds becoming southerly @ 15-25 mph.

Tom. Night: Mo. cloudy & breezy w/a 20% chance of rain after midnight. Low around 38. S/SE winds 15-25 mph.

Sunday: Sunny & windy, with a high near 57.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear & windy, with a low around 29.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 57.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 49. The Low was 19. Last year on this date (3/21) the High in Atlantic was 44 & the Low was 23. The Record High was 80 in 1938. The Record Low was -7 in 1906. Sunrise: 7:24; Sunset: 7:32.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who parked outside during Wednesday’s heavy thunderstorms (and for that matter, storms that occurred the week before) are finding their vehicles now look like they’ve been dunked in mud. National Weather Service meteorologist Alexis Jimenez says those brown smudges and polka-dots have far-away origins, thanks to the winds of the massive storm, which topped off above 70 miles an hour.

“With it being so powerful, it pulls up a lot of air from the south,” Jimenez says, “and usually we think about moisture coming from the south, but also it brought in some of the dust and dirt from places like New Mexico and Texas all the way up into the Midwest.” There’s plenty of grit and sand in the gunk, too, which she says came from the deserts of the southwestern U-S. “Truly, it is just how powerful the winds were with that system,” Jimenez says. “The moisture in the air just moved this way from the south and that dirt just continued to get lofted higher up. And as you go higher up in the air, the winds get faster, so it can travel a lot farther, and then once the rain started to form, it’s sort of just taking all that dirt out of the sky.”

The effects of a “Mud rain”

With sunny skies and highs back in the 40s and 50s, Iowa car washes should likely brace for a business boost.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 46. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming west southwest this afternoon.
Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 33. S/SW @ winds 10 to 20 mph, with gusts near 30 mph.
Tomorrow: Partly sunny & breezy w/a slight chance of rain late in the afternoon. A high near 55. S/SW winds 15-30 mph becoming N/NW in the afternoon.
Tom. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 25. W/NW @ 10-25 becoming light after midnight.
Saturday: Mostly sunny & breezy, with a high near 60.
Sat. Night: Mostly cloudy & breezy w/a 40% chance of rain after midnight. A low around 39.
Sunday: A slight chance of rain, otherwise mostly sunny & windy, with a high near 55.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 37. The Low was 19. We had received .2″ of sleet/ice Wednesday, in Atlantic (at KJAN), along with .3″ of snow. The total amount of precipitation (Rain/Sleet/Snow) had a liquid value of .13″.  Last year on this date (3/20) the High in Atlantic was 66 & the Low was 30. The Record High was 79 in 1976. The Record Low was -14 in 1923. Sunrise: 7:26; Sunset: 7:31.

(Radio Iowa) – Blizzard conditions have shut down roadways and travel is not recommended in many areas of western and northwestern Iowa this afternoon. D-O-T Winter Operations Director Craig Bargfrede says a large area is impacted. “If you draw a line basically from just north of Council Bluffs, kind of in the Missouri Valley area, and then do a diagonal up through Carroll Fort Dodge Mason City, pretty much that area, along that line and just north of that line. Interstate 29 is closed in both directions between Sergeant Bluff and Missouri Valley.

Bargfrede says they are working on getting some of the vehicles there removed as there are power lines down on the interstate. He says electric crews can’t get in to work on the power lines until they get cars out of the way. Bargfrede says there are a lot of semis and other cars that have blocked roads as the storm blew through. “We didn’t close the roads, the roads closed themselves due to incidents and vehicles and trucks basically getting stuck and stranded in those areas,” he says. Bargfrede says they have NOT pulled any crews off the roadways.

IA DOT traffic cam I-29 near Sloan

“We’re continuing to plow and trying to get in there as best we can and at least free those vehicles,” Bargfrede says. “There are some towing bans in place up in that same area. So, what that means if the vehicle is down in the right of way, not in the traveled portion of the highway, it’s probably going to remain there until conditions have improved.” He says the snow missed much of the rest of the state as it curled up north.

“Get into the Des Moines and on into like, say, Iowa City, Coralville, Cedar Rapids area, into the Quad Cities. Conditions are are much better, still seeing wind, still seeing some off and on showers in that area, but not the snow. It’s pretty dramatic drop off from where we’re seeing the significant snow till there’s basically nothing other than wet payment,” Bargfrede says.

Bargfrede says crews will keep working as long as needed to clear the roadways.

(Radio Iowa) – The last day of winter is going out with a blizzard. Forecasters say a storm system will drop up to a foot of snow across a long stretch of Iowa today (Wednesday), from the southwest to north-central Iowa, with winds gusting up to 65 miles an hour. National Weather Service meteorologist Rod Donavon says some areas are seeing rain showers this morning, but that will change over to snow across the state’s northwestern half.  “That trend will continue throughout the day today, as we do have a band of heavy snow that we are expecting to develop basically from near Mason City, it’s going to be pretty close to the Fort Dodge area, out by Algona, off to the southwest towards Denison.” The blizzard warning covers 34 counties through tonight and Donavon says white-out conditions are possible which could make driving very dangerous.

“We are looking at a snow band anywhere from six-to-ten, even eight-to-12 inches through that region,” Donavon says. “In addition, we are expecting extremely strong winds to develop today. We’re expecting wind gusts of 55 to 65 miles per hour. Anywhere within that heavy snow band, travel is going to become impossible at some point today, with multiple roads becoming closed through that region.” More foul weather could be headed our way, though Donavon says it’s continuing to evolve.

Iowa DOT camera screenshot: I-80: CB – I-80 @ West I-29 Interchange (West) (49) as of 8:38-a.m. March 19th

“We’re still monitoring this one storm system coming through around Friday/Friday night that may bring another round,” he says. “Right now, we have rain in the forecast, but we could see some gusty winds with that, maybe a brief transition to snow on the backside of that, but otherwise, we’re going to get back a little bit more normal, with highs within that snow band lingering in the 40s.”

By the weekend, forecasters say high temps may be back in the 50s.

Today: WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY from 7-a.m. until 10-p.m.* HIGH WIND WARNING from 7-a.m. until 7-p.m.*Rain and snow, possibly mixed with sleet, becoming all snow this noon. Some thunder is also possible. Widespread blowing snow, mainly after 5pm. Temperature falling to around 32 by 4pm. Winds N @ 30-60 mph. New snow and sleet accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Tonight: A 30% chance of snow, mainly before 8pm. Widespread blowing snow, mainly before 7pm. Cloudy to partly cloudy. Low around 22. N/NW winds 30-50 decreasing after midnight. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Tomorrow: Sunny, with a high near 47. NW winds becoming W/SW @ 10-20 mph. o.
Tom. Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33. South winds 15-25 mph.
Friday: Partly sunny & breezy w/a slight chance of rain after 1pm. A high near 54.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 24.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 78. The Low was 37. We had received just a trace of rain at KJAN early this morning. Last year on this date (3/19) the High in Atlantic was 39 & the Low was 21. The Record High was 81 in 2012. The Record Low was -1 in 1893. Sunrise: 7:27; Sunset: 7:30.

(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters say travel could be difficult if not impossible across Iowa’s northwestern third tomorrow (Wednesday). Blizzard conditions are in the forecast for some 30 counties with winds gusting up to 65 miles an hour and heavy snow of up to twelve inches in some areas. National Weather Service meteorologist Alexis Jimenez says the storm front will start moving into Iowa late tonight and early tomorrow.

“We’re expecting that precipitation to come in after about one o’clock in the morning,” Jimenez says. “That’s going to be primarily rain and thunderstorms in the southeastern half of the state, and maybe some thunderstorms mixing in more on the north side, where there’s going to be snow, so that means ‘thunder-snow’ for those that like that.” A major temperature shift is coming to the region, as highs today are forecast mostly in the 60s and 70s across Iowa, but the approaching storm system will bring in very cold air.

“Rain will gradually transition to all snow as we get into Wednesday morning especially,” Jimenez says, “and with those winds up to about 65 miles per hour, especially up there in northern Iowa, you can have some blizzard conditions pretty likely up there and white-out conditions are likely with that.”

Some areas may see snowfall at the rate of two inches per hour. Coincidentally, tomorrow’s the last full day of winter.