Today: Sunny & windy. High near 74. South winds 15 to 35 mph. ELEVATED FIRE DANGER due to low humidity, dry surface vegetation and cropland, and strong/gusty winds.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46. South winds 10-20 mph.
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. S/SW winds 10-20 mph.
Tom. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. South southwest wind around 5-10 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 77.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49.
Monday: Partly sunny w/a 30% chance of afternoon showers. High near 74.
Monday Night: A 40% chance of showers. Low around 50.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 74.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 70. The Low was 43. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 68 and the Low was 49. The Record High for Oct. 18th in Atlantic was 86 in 2003. The Record Low was 13 in 2022. Sunrise today: 7:35. Sunset: 6:35.

316 AM CDT Fri Oct 18 2024

…Elevated Fire Danger Today…

WHAT…Stronger winds from the south at 15 to 20 mph with gusts around 25 to 35 mph, dry surface vegetation and cropland, and low relative humidity between 25 and 30 percent will lead to elevated fire danger today.

WHERE…Across all of central Iowa.

WHEN… From 11am to 7pm today.

IMPACTS…Any fires that ignite will spread rapidly and become very difficult to control, especially in cropland.

PREPAREDNESS AND PRECAUTIONARY ACTIONS…Burning is strongly discouraged under these conditions. Also, take extra care to prevent the start of accidental fires when smoking or operating vehicles around dry vegetation or crops.

Today: **RED FLAG WARNING 11-a.m. to 7-p.m. for critical fire weather conditions** Sunny & windy. High near 71. South winds 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.
Tonight: Clear & windy. Low around 45. S @ 15-30 mph.
Tomorrow: Sunny & windy. High near 74. S @ 15-35 mph.
Tom. Night: Partly cloudy & breezy. Low around 46. S @ 10-25 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 75.
Monday: Partly sunny w/a 50% chance of showers. High near 69.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 61. Our Low this morning was 20. That 24-hour temperature tied the record low previously set in 1976 & 1977. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 70 and the Low was 31. The Record High for Oct. 17th in Atlantic was 87, in 1947 & 2016. The Record Low was 12 in 1976. Sunrise today: 7:33. Sunset: 6:36.

Today: FREEZE WARNING until 9-a.m. – Widespread frost this morning; Elevated Fire Danger! Sunny & breezy. High near 60. S/SW winds 10-25 mph.
Tonight: Clear, with a low around 35. South winds 10-20.
Tomorrow: Sunny & windy. High near 71. FIRE WEATHER WATCH from 11-a.m. until 7-p.m. Winds South at 20-40 mph.
Tom. Night: Mostly clear & windy. Low around 45. S @ 20-35 mph.
Friday: Sunny & windy. High near 73.
Fri. night: Partly cloudy & breezy. Low around 47.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 74.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 58. The Low this morning (& 24-hour low [7-a.m. to 7-a.m.]), was 20. As of 7:05-a.m., Atlantic tied the 24-hour Record Low for Oct. 16th. That temperature was previously set in 1976 & 1977. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 65 and the Low was 31. The Record High for Oct. 16th in Atlantic was 87, in 1921. Sunrise today: 7:33. Sunset: 6:38.

The northern part of the state saw freezing temperatures overnight, and the rest of the state is expected to get them tonight.

National Weather Service meteorologist Dylan Dodson says central and southern Iowa are under a freeze warning, and the north will be cold again. “Since we already reached those freezing temperatures in the north last night, the growing season has ended up there. So there’s not a freeze warning for that we issue it for for plant and sensitive stuff like that,” he says. “Since we’ve already reached that hard freeze, there’s not a freeze warning up there, but they will still be reaching temperatures as low as the mid 20s.”

Dodson says this is about that time of year when we start seeing these freezing temperatures, and he says the freezing cold is making a short visit for now. “You know, tonight and tomorrow morning will get pretty cold, and then you’ll see temperatures steadily warming through the week. Tomorrow night’s lows are in the mid to upper 30s, maybe even 40,” Dodson says. “And temperatures during the day, we’ll see highs in the 60s tomorrow, and then 60s, so maybe even the 70s on Thursday, and then by Friday and Saturday, we’ll be back well into the 70s.”

He says we shouldn’t have to worry about the cold again for a while. “Our forecast Friday through the rest of the end of the forecast is in those 70s. And I know that the Climate Prediction Center, their graphics have us for the six to 10-day outlook and then the eight to 14-day outlook are both above normal temperatures,” Dodson says.

While the cold is a concern for most of the state, the far northwest corner of the state remains in a Fire Weather Watch as conditions are right so any fires that develop would likely spread rapidly.

Today: FROST ADVISORY in effect until 8-a.m.; Mostly cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 55. NE wind 10-20 mph.
Tonight: Widespread frost after 11pm. FREEZE WARNING from 1-a.m. until 9-a.m. Wednesday; Clear, with a low around 26.
Tomorrow: Widespread frost, mainly before 9am; Sunny, with a high near 62. S winds 10-20 mph.
Tom. Night: Clear, with a low around 39. S winds 10-25 mph.
Thursday: Sunny & windy, with a high near 69.
Friday: Sunny & windy, with a high near 73.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 60. The Low 30. We received a few sprinkles in Atlantic early this morning. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 53 and the Low was 37. The Record High for Oct. 15th in Atlantic was 89, in 1892. The Record Low was 17 in 1952. Sunrise today: 7:31. Sunset: 6:39.

Today (Columbus Day): Widespread frost, mainly before 9am. Sunny, with a high near 58. Calm wind becoming north northwest 5 to 10 mph this afternoon. Freeze Advisory until 9-a.m.
Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 28. NE winds 10-20 mph. Frost Advisory until 9-a.m. Tuesday.
Tomorrow: Sunny, with a high near 54. NE 10-20 mph.
Tom. Night: Widespread frost. Mostly clear, with a low around 25.
Wednesday: Widespread frost, mainly before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 60. Freeze Watch in effect until 9-a.m.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 38.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 69. Windy.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 61. Our Low this morning was 31. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 50 and the Low was 45. The Record High was 88 in 1897. The Record Low was 16 in 1937. Sunrise today: 7:30. Sunset: 6:41.

Today: Sunny & windy, with a high near 62. N/NW winds 10-20 this morning gusting to near 35 mph this afternoon. There is an elevated fire danger risk due to strong winds and low humidity.
Tonight: FROST ADVISORY in effect after midnight. Mostly clear, with a low around 33. N/NW wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts to around 20 mph.
Columbus Day: FROST ADVISORY until 9-a.m. Widespread frost, mainly between 8am and 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 58. N/NW winds 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33.
Tuesday: Widespread frost, mainly before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 55.
Tuesday Night: Widespread frost, mainly after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 26.
Wednesday: Widespread frost before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 60.

Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 77. The Low was 42. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 62, and the Low was 48. The Record High was 88 in 1975. The Record Low was 15 in 1907. Sunrise: 7:29; Sunset: 6:42.

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 46. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: Sunny & windy, with a high near 63. N/NW winds 15-30 mph.
Sun. Night: Mostly clear w/frost possible after midnight. Low 33.
Columbus Day: Widespread frost in the morning. Sunny. High near 59. N/NW winds 5 mph in the afternoon.
Monday Night: Widespread frost. Partly cloudy, with a low around 32.
Tuesday: Widespread frost, mainly before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 57.

Friday’s High in Atlantic was 87. Our Low was 53. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 62, and the Low was 52. The Record High on Oct. 12th, was 90 in 1899. The Record Low was 17 in 1908. Sunrise: 7:28; Sunset: 6:44.

(Radio Iowa) – After last month turned out to be Iowa’s driest September on record, October’s shaping up to be just as dry and the drought conditions are worsening. The new map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows the patches of severe drought are growing in both western Iowa and in the northeast, now covering more than seven percent of the state. A much larger section, 49-percent, is considered in moderate drought, and that stretches across the majority of Iowa’s northern half and much of the west. About 41-percent of the state is considered abnormally dry, while only about two-and-a-half percent has no moisture worries — at the moment at least — across a few counties in the southwest.

Graphic from the U.S. Drought Monitor

Forecasters say a cold front should start to arrive tonight (Friday) that will bring progressively colder temperatures over the next several days, with the first frost likely for Iowa next Tuesday. There are little to no chances for rain for at least another week.