Today: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 10am. Areas of fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 78. Light east northeast wind.
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. Light and variable wind. Areas of fog with visibilities around or under a mile and localized patchy dense fog with visibilities under 1/4 mile at times this morning.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Light west wind. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. Calm wind.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Sunny, with a high near 83. Calm wind becoming west southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 83.
Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 75. Our Low this morning, 57. We received .01″ rain yesterday after 7-a.m. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 82, & the Low was 55. The All-time Record High here, on July 21st, was 107 in 1934, & the Record Low was 44, in 1894. Sunrise: 6:03. Sunset: 8:48.
Today: Cloudy w/a 60% chance of [non-severe] showers & possible thunderstorms. High near 71. S/SE winds 5-10 8 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy w/a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low around 61.
Sunday: Partly sunny w/a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. High near 75. Winds east at around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 59.
Monday: Mostly sunny w/a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. High near 79.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny w/just a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. High near 82.
Friday’s High in Atlantic was 78. Our Low was 61. We received .13″ rain last night in Atlantic (at KJAN). Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 82 and the Low was 54. The All-Time Record High in Atlantic on July 20th, was 109 in 1934. The Record Low was 44 in 1953. Sunrise: 6:02; Sunset: 8:49.
(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – All parts of Iowa — for the first time in more than four years — have sufficient soil moisture to not be considered “abnormally dry” by national climate experts, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor report on Thursday. That dryness designation can indicate an area is on the cusp of drought conditions, under which affected areas can have negative impacts for agriculture and water supplies.
An example: After years of drought, a lake that supplies water for the city of Osceola had lost so much of its volume that the city considered recycling its wastewater. Significant rainfall in recent months has restored the lake to nearly its normal surface elevation, according to city data.
Drought developed in Iowa in July 2020 and persisted until May 2024, after the state had one of its wettest starts to a year on record. It marked a dramatic recovery since September, when the state was the driest it had been in a decade. Last week, Iowa had rainfall that was below average, according to State Climatologist Justin Glisan. However, heavy rain fell along the eastern edge of the state where the last remaining pocket of abnormal dryness lay.
A month ago, about 31% of the state was abnormally dry, according to Drought Monitor reports. The last time there was no drought or dryness was May 2020. The federal Climate Prediction Center does not foresee drought reemerging in Iowa in the coming months. Iowa lies in the center of a multistate area that has no drought and little abnormal dryness.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported this week that more than 90% of Iowa’s farm fields have adequate or surplus moisture for growing crops. Last year, only 57% of topsoil was rated the same way.
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy w/a 40% chance of showers & thunderstorms. Low around 62.
Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy w/a60% chance of showers & possibly a thunderstorm. High near 73. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tom. Night: Mo. Cldy w/a 30% chance of showers & thunderstorms. Low around 60.
Sunday: Partly sunny w/a 30% chance of showers & thunderstorms. High near 76.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.
Monday: Partly sunny w/a 30% chance of afternoon showers & thunderstorms. High near 78.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60.
Tuesday: A chance of afternoon showers & thunderstorms, otherwise mostly sunny. High around 81.
Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 82. Our Low was 53. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 83 and the Low was 62. The All-Time Record High in Atlantic on July 19th, was 110 in 1934. The Record Low was 47 in 1891 & 1947. Sunrise: 6:02; Sunset: 8:49.
Today: Sunny, with a high near 77. East wind around 5 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 56. .
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tom. Night: A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Low around 60. .
Saturday: A 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. High near 74.
Sat. Night: A 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low around 58.
Sunday: A 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms. High near 76.
Monday (RAGBRAI): A 30% chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms. High near 78.
Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 82. Our Low this morning, 52. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 79 and the Low was 59. The All-Time Record High in Atlantic on July 18th, was 107 in 1936. The Record Low was 44 in 1953. Sunrise: 6:01; Sunset: 8:50.
(Radio Iowa) – Even though the Council Bluffs area didn’t see as much widespread damage from flooding last month as other parts of western Iowa, the city’s top elected official says he’s concerned about future severe weather episodes — due to climate change. Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh points to record-breaking flooding and deadly tornadoes as signs climate change is real and too costly to ignore. “People justify what they want to justify,” Walsh says. “I think the proof is in the pudding and the pudding is saying that FEMA is running out of money and between fires and hurricanes and tornadoes and flooding, it’s pretty hard to deny evidence that’s right in front of your face.”
Federal officials say FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund could run out of money by mid-August without additional help from Congress. If that happened, the director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told the Associated Press money would be taken from other programs to cover the most urgent needs. Mayor Walsh says a levee protected Council Bluffs from devastating flooding seen upstream, but some low-lying areas near the Missouri River were underwater, with about 50 homes impacted by groundwater. A storm late in June also caused substantial tree damage. Walsh blames climate change. “I think it’s time to do a little reality check and take some steps,” Walsh says. “I don’t know if it’s too late to correct it, but it’s certainly not too late to address it and try to slow it down.”
The Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area received a $1 million grant from the federal government to pay for climate change planning to reduce greenhouse gases. Walsh says his community has worked to help encourage solar energy development to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution.
Today: Sunny, with a high near 79. North wind at 5 to 10 mph this morning.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 53.
Tomorrow: Sunny, with a high near 77. E/NE winds @ 5-mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.
Friday Night: A 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after midnight. Low around 61.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy w/a60% chance of showers & thunderstorms. High near 72.
Saturday Night: A 40% chance of showers. Low around 60.
Sunday: Partly sunny w/a 30% chance of showers through mid-day. High near 76.
Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 80. Our Low this morning, 60. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 76 and the Low was 54. The All-Time Record High in Atlantic on July 17th, was 109 in 1936. The Record Low was 45 in 1911. Sunrise: 6:00; Sunset: 8:51.
(Radio Iowa) – The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities has confirmed a tornado hit Davenport during last night’s storms. Meteorologist Brian Pierce says they don’t know the full extent of the damage or the exact time the tornado touched down, but they do know with some confidence the size and scope of the tornado.
“We have a width of 100 yards and a maximum windspeed of about 100 miles an hour, so it was EF-0 to borderline EF-1,” Pierce. The tornado moved about 8 miles through the city, and ultimately crossed the Mississippi River. Pierce says pinpointing the time the twister touched down may take time due to the scope of last night’s storms. “We did have straight line winds with windspeeds of about 70 to 75 miles an hour coming through the Quad Cities area. Up around the Dubuque area, winds were pushing 100 miles an hour,” he says. 
The Des Moines area weather office confirmed at least one tornado touched down Monday night in Urbandale and Windsor Heights.
MidAmerican says around 50,000 people were without power at the peak of the storms, including 31,000 in the Quad Cities. Mid-American Energy spokesman Geoff Greenwood says they’ve called in a lot of help. “This is an all hands on deck type of situation,” Greenwood says. “And in addition to our own crews, we’ve brought in additional tree crews from elsewhere, and even contract line crews, some crews from other utilities here in the Midwest. Those line and tree crews come from Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Missouri.
“They’re all focused on efforts in the Quad Cities, and we’ll have crews working throughout the night as we expect these efforts are going to have to continue through Wednesday,” he says. Mid-American Energy anticipates power to be restored to most Quad Cities customers by Wednesday.
(By Grant Winterer,Iowa Public Radio)
(Radio Iowa) – A powerful series of storms swept over Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan late Monday afternoon and night, spinning off at least one tornado in Iowa and knocking out the power to nearly a half-million Midwesterners. The Weather Channel and several news outlets are calling the storms a derecho, but meteorologist Brooke Hagenhof, at the National Weather Service office in Johnston, says still it’s too early to say that. “The official determination for a derecho is made by the Storm Prediction Center, their national center down in Norman, Oklahoma,” Hagenhoff says. “Derechos have a very strict definition as far as how long they are and how wide that swath of wind damage is, so they will be going through the data today and determining whether this fits that description.”
A derecho, also called a land hurricane, is defined as a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms. This storm system appears to fit that definition, bringing exceptionally powerful winds to many areas of Iowa, including a report of 102-mile an hour gusts near New Vienna in Dubuque County. There are dozens of damage reports from central into eastern Iowa of toppled trees, downed power lines, and structural damage to homes, businesses and other buildings. The one confirmed tornado touched down in metro Des Moines.
“We did have the area that moved across portions of the metro from Urbandale into the Windsor Heights area across the Des Moines metro,” Hagenhoff says. “We’re also investigating some damage near Eldora, as well as a swath of wind gusts that went from near Pella towards Montezuma and just north of Oskaloosa.” A national report says the power was cut to more than 460-thousand customers in the region, including parts of Chicago. Iowa-based MidAmerican Energy reported 40-thousand customers without power at 11 last night, mostly in the Des Moines, Iowa City and Davenport areas.
80,000-bushel grain bin toppled in Luxemburg (Photo by Luxemburg Fire Dep’t)
A Des Moines T-V station reports the electricity may not be restored to all Urbandale residents until late tonight or early tomorrow. Many counties in northeast Iowa reported large hail, Benton County reported two-and-a-half inches of rainfall, and there was scattered flash flooding, including Highway 61 being underwater near Zwingle. Hagenhoff says the weather service is dispatching survey teams to several Iowa locations where the damage is concentrated. “We’re going to be working today to determine which of those were due to tornado damage and which was straight line winds with this complex of storms that moved across the state,” she says.
There are no serious injuries reported in Iowa, though one death is attributed to the storm. Reports say a woman in Indiana was killed when a tree fell on her home. The derecho that hit Iowa in August of 2020 had winds that peaked in the Cedar Rapids area around 140 miles an hour. The storm destroyed more than seven-million Iowa trees and caused some 11-billion dollars damage.
(Radio Iowa) – Severe storms moved across Iowa late Monday afternoon and early evening, bringing large hail, high winds and at least one tornado.
The first warning in western Iowa was for the Crawford and Carroll County areas, at around 3:40-p.m. According to the National Weather Services, tennis ball-size hail was reported by the public, in Vail. Hail the size of eggs fell in Westside, quarter-size hail was reported in Arcadia, and winds gusting to near 65-miles per hour were reported near Manning. Winds gusting to near 55-mph were noted northwest of Adel.
The New Vienna/Luxemburg Fire Department reported a wind gust of 102 miles an hour, with several reports of damage to structures, trees and vehicles. Delaware County Emergency Management Coordinator Mandy Bieber says the winds were exceptional. “Significant wind speeds in the 80 mile an hour range,” Bieber says, “and it seems like it did significantly increase as it moved across the county in Dubuque County, maybe took a little harder hit than what we did.”
Bieber says there are no reports of anyone hurt, but there are multiple reports of damage. “The Earlville area, we’re seeing some pictures of trees that have been completely blown over, that are larger, and a lot of vinyl fencing and lighter items receiving some damage as well,” Bieber says. “We did have one report of a topper ripped off of a truck.”
Tornado warnings were issued in portions of Buchanan, Delaware, Linn, Polk, Jones and Dubuque counties, as several funnel clouds were spotted. Flash flooding was reported, with Highway 61 covered with water near Zwingle and flooded roads west of New Vienna. “Lines down in several different areas, the fire departments and public works guys are all out taking care of that,” Bieber says. “Obviously, with the lines being down, we are seeing some power outages.”
Near Backbone State Park (Photo by Dan Murhpy, Delaware County. via
MidAmerican Energy reported 40-thousand customers without power at 11 P-M, mostly in the Des Moines, Iowa City and Davenport areas. Meteorologist Dylan Dodson, at the National Weather Service in Johnston, says one twister was spotted. Dodson says, “We had some severe storms that caused some extensive tree damage and some downed power lines through the Des Moines metro, with one tornado confirmed in Polk County.” That tornado was reported near Windsor Heights and Grimes. The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency reported a funnel cloud was observed a little after 6-p.m., Monday, about six-miles southwest of Grant.
On the plus side, Dodson says the storm broke the extreme heat wave, and high temperatures through the rest of the week should be in the 70’s and 80’s.
(Reporting by Janelle Tucker, KMCH, Manchester and Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)
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