Today: Partly cloudy to cloudy & breezy, w/a chance of sprinkles late this afternoon. High near 47. Winds S/SW at 10-15 this morning becoming N/NW this afternoon w/gusts as high as 25 mph.
Tonight: Cloudy w/a chance of sprinkles or flurries this evening, then a chance of flurries. Gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 7. N/NW winds 15-35 mph w/gusts to around 45 mph possible. Wind chill values as low as -5.
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, cold & blustery. High near 17. N/NW winds 15-30 mph. Wind chill values as low as -15.
Tom. Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around -4. N/NW @ 10-20 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, cold, & blustery with a high near 7. Bitterly cold wind chills of 15 below zero to 30 below zero are expected overnight and early mornings from Sunday through Tuesday morning.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around -6.
M.L.King Day: Mostly sunny, cold & continued blustery, with a high near 8.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around -9.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 14.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 46. The Low was 27. Last year on this date (Jan. 17th), the High in Atlantic was 21 and the Low was 4. The Record High was 57 in 1989, and the Record Low was -21 in 1984. Sunrise: 7:43. Sunset: 5:17.

Today: Sunny. A high near 41. NW winds 5-10 mph becoming southwest this afternoon w/gusts to around 20 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low around 26. SW-S @ 10-25 mph.
Tomorrow: Increasingly cloudy. High near 43. S/Sw @ 10-20 becoming N/NW & gusting to near 25 mph.
Tom. Night: Mostly cloudy & windy, with a low around 9. NW @ 15-35 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny & windy, with a high near 18.
Sunday: Sunny, cold & blustery, with a high near 7.
M.L.King Day: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 7.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 34. The Low was 8. Last year on this date (Jan. 16th), the High in Atlantic was 5 and the Low was -9. The Record High was 64 in 1990, and the Record Low was -25 in 2009. Sunrise: 7:44. Sunset: 5:16.

(Radio Iowa) – More bitter cold weather is predicted by this weekend, with high temperatures in single digits, and while the freezing forecast is hard on all of us, it’s particularly tough for Iowa’s oldest residents. Stephanie Humphries owns “Right at Home” operations in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, offering in-home care to seniors and adults with disabilities who want to live independently. She says gauging an older person’s capabilities may involve nudging them to make a shift in thinking. “Do they have someone arranged to clear their sidewalks or driveways?” Humphries says. “Some of our older adults maybe still try to do those things themselves, but they really need to evaluate what their mobility is like and what their balance is like.”

Even if there hasn’t been snow, sidewalks can be slippery. If they’re venturing out, Humphries says seniors need to have good footwear for the weather, like shoes or boots with a solid rubber sole.  “A lot of our older adults use walking devices to help them keep their balance,” she says. “There are attachments that you can get, just nice little gadgets that you can put on the bottoms of canes and walkers to help them navigate through the snowy and icy weather.” Older homes may need a little T-L-C in order to become more energy efficient during the frigid winters, and that costs money. Humphries says many Iowa communities have help available for seniors, someone who can come in and do minor jobs, often for free.

“There’s Aging Services through UnityPoint,” she says. “They’ve got a lot of different volunteers that can come in and help in the home, and then also can contract with individuals that, let’s say they’re retired contractors, or handy men, handy women, that can come in and do some renovations to the home.” When the weather’s especially wicked, it’s a good idea to check in on our elderly friends and loved ones, by phone, text, email or just dropping by. Still, how often should you do that to show you care, without being annoying? “It’s going to depend on your loved one, and what they’re contending with from a medical standpoint,” Humphries says, “but anywhere from one to three times a week, probably depending on, again, what their loved one’s living situation is like, and maybe their age, and abilities.”

She says it’s also a good idea to make sure they’re stocked up on all needed prescription medications and on non-perishable food items, just in case the weather turns really bad and you can’t stop by in person.

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 29. S/SW winds 10-20 mph. Wind chill values as low as -5.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22. SW-W/NW @ 10-20.
Tomorrow: Sunny, with a high near 37. W/NW winds becoming W/SW @ 5-15 w/gusts to near 20 mph.
Tom. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 25.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 42.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy & blustery, with a low around 12.
Saturday: Mostly sunny & blustery, with a high near 19.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -1.
Sunday: Sunny and cold, with a high near 8.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 12. The Low was -3. Last year on this date (Jan. 15th), the High in Atlantic was -3 and the Low was -9. The Record High was 61 in 1990, and the Record Low was -23 in 1905. Sunrise: 7:44. Sunset: 5:15.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 15. Winds N @ 10-20 this morning diminishing this afternoon.Wind chill near -10.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low around 4. S winds @ 5 mph. Wind chill values as low as -5.
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. A high near 29. SW winds 10-20. Wind chill values as low as -5.
Tom. Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 20.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 41.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 44.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 23. Blustery.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 26. The Low (24-hr & at 7-a.m) was -1. Last year on this date (Jan. 14th), the High in Atlantic was -9 and the Low was -20. The Record High was 54 in 1914, and the Record Low was -29 in 1957. Sunrise: 7:45. Sunset: 5:12.

Today: Partly cloudy to cloudy with a high near 21. Winds W at 10-20 mph. Wind chill values as low as -5.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy w/a slight chance of snow. Low around 2. Wind chill values as low as -5.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 17. Winds N @ 5-10 mph. Wind chill values as low as -10.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 5.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 29.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 42.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 43.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 26. Our Low this morning (As of 7-a.m.) was 4. Last year on this date (Jan. 13th), the High in Atlantic was -1 and the Low was -20. The Record High was 62 in 1987, and the Record Low was -24 in 1916. Sunrise: 7:45. Sunset: 5:12.

Today: Mostly cloudy & windy, with the temperature falling into the upper teens late this afternoon. NW winds 15 to near 35 mph. Wind chill values as low as zero.
Tonight: Partly cloudy & blustery.  Low around 5.NW winds 10-20 w/gust to around 30 mph. Wind chill values as low as -5.
Tomorrow: Sunny & breezy, with a high near 19. W/NW winds 10-20. Wind chill values as low as -5.
Tom. Night: Mostly cloudy w/a slight chance of snow. Low around 2.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 17.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 31.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 42.

Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 37. The Low was 20. Last year on this date (Jan. 12th), the High in Atlantic was 10 and the Low was -3. The Record High was 57 in 1961 & 1987, and the Record Low was -37 in 1974. Sunrise: 7:45. Sunset: 5:11.

Today: A chance of Flurries between 2pm and 5 pm, then a slight chance of snow after 5pm, Mostly Cloudy, with a high near 33. Wind chill values as low as 10. South southeast wind 6 to 11 mph, with gust as high as 20. Chance of precipitation is 20%
Tonight: A Slight chance of snow before 7pm, then a chance of flurries between 7pm and midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. South southwest wind 6 to 13mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 23. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 18 by 5pm. Wind chill values as low as 5. Blustery, with a northwest wind 13 to 20 mph, with gust as high as 28 mph.
Tom. Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 4. Wind chill values as low as -5. Northwest wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 18. West northwest wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. .
Monday Night: Partly Cloudy, with a low around -1.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 19.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 7.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 30.

Friday’s High in Atlantic was 29. The Low was 10. Last year on this date (Jan. 11th), the High in Atlantic was 20 and the Low was 8. The Record High was 55 in 1986, and the Record Low was -22 in 1892. Sunrise: 7:45. Sunset: 5:10.

(Radio Iowa) – Fifty years ago today (Friday), a massive snowstorm brought chaos to wide sections of Iowa. Called the “Storm of the Century,” the blizzard claimed 58 lives in the Midwest, including 15 people Iowa. Ed Porter was a photographer for the Sioux City Journal in 1975. He’s 90-years-old now and recalls flying overhead to photograph snow drifts up to 20 feet tall that were shaped by 16 inches of snowfall and powerful winds. “It was just pure white, except you’d see a bump in the road where the car was stuck, the train with the plow on the front of it, being totally bogged in,” Porter says, “the cattle and all the other things that were going on.”

Porter says the wicked storm was one of the highlights of his long career, which also included coverage of the crash-landing of Flight 232 and several presidents including Truman, Carter, and Reagan.  “We were so cold coming back that we could hardly move,” he says. “They had to cut me out of the seat belt ‘cause I was just about froze stiff.”

1975 Blizzard (Image from Acrossthefflow.wordpress.com.)

Governor Robert Ray declared 40 counties in northwest and western Iowa disaster areas. An estimated 100-thousand head of livestock died, and thousands of people were stranded in their cars.

Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 28. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 14. Wind chill values as low as 5.
Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 34. S winds 10-20. Wind chill values as low as zero.
Tom. Night: Cloudy w/a 30% chance of snow. Low around 22. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 5.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 18.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 4.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 19.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 34. The Low was 15. Last year on this date (Jan. 10th), the High in Atlantic was 27 and the Low was 12. The Record High was 59 in 1928, and the Record Low was -27 in 1982. Sunrise: 7:46. Sunset: 5:09.