The recent rain and snow have played havoc with outdoor events and activities, but all the moisture has a positive side. Tim Hall of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says moisture of any type is important after the severe drought that hit the state. “This is exactly what we’d hoped for, is sustained long-term, better then normal precipitation during the months when we typically get a lot of rain anyway. And March and April and May are pretty wet months, and we are getting more than normal right in those months,” Hall says.

April set a new statewide average for rainfall at six-point-five-two inches (6.52), with normal rainfall for April at three-point-five-one (3.51) inches. A new drought map comes out Thursday, and Hall expects to see the areas with severe problems continuing to shrink. “We’re making some real improvement in the drought conditions in the state, and I think we’re gonna continue to see improvement in the near future,” according to Hall. Not only has the amount of rain increased, it is coming at a time where the frost is out of the ground — so the rain that falls or snow that melts — sinks into the soil.

“In fact our groundwater folks who work with a lot of the water utilities in northwest Iowa are starting to see that reflected in the water levels in some of the wells that are used to supply drinking water,” Hall says. “So we’re starting to see some gradual recovery in the levels in wells, which is indicative of the water making it down into the ground where it is going to do some real good.” He says those areas that were not hit as hard by the drought are building up some reserve with the rains that’re falling now. Hall says that makes it less likely they’ll get back into a water shortage.

“I think if the rainfall stopped for a couple of weeks, which it probable will — I mean we go through periods where we don’t get rain for a couple three weeks — the real danger is if that rainfall slows down or stops and we get excessively hot where the demand for water also starts to go up in conjunction with the rain going down,” Hall says. Hall says farmers are probably really hoping the rain will stop for awhile so they can get into the fields — but he says even they will be happy that all the moisture is replenishing the groundwater.

(Radio Iowa)

700 AM CDT SUN MAY 5 2013
AREA COUNTIES: UNION-RINGGOLD-

…DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CDT THIS MORNING…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A DENSE FOG
ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CDT THIS MORNING.

* VISIBILITY…ONE QUARTER OF A MILE WITH FURTHER REDUCTIONS
POSSIBLE AT TIMES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A DENSE FOG ADVISORY MEANS VISIBILITIES WILL FREQUENTLY BE
REDUCED TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE. IF DRIVING…SLOW DOWN…
USE YOUR HEADLIGHTS…AND LEAVE PLENTY OF DISTANCE AHEAD OF YOU.

431 AM CDT SUN MAY 5 2013

EARLY THIS MORNING…CLOUDY WITH ISOLATED LIGHT SHOWERS AND PATCHY DRIZZLE. PATCHY FOG. NORTH WIND AROUND 10 MPH. CHANCE OF SHOWERS 20 PERCENT.

TODAY…CLOUDY. PATCHY FOG THROUGH MID MORNING. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON. WARMER. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. AREAS OF FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOW IN THE MID 40S. NORTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

MONDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. PATCHY FOG THROUGH MID MORNING. HIGH IN THE UPPER 60S. NORTH WIND AROUND 5 MPH.

MONDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 40S. EAST WIND NEAR 5 MPH THROUGH MIDNIGHT BECOMING LIGHT.

TUESDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 70S. SOUTH WIND NEAR 10 MPH.

TUESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS THROUGH MIDNIGHT…THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOW IN THE LOWER 50S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 40 PERCENT.

WEDNESDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH AROUND 70.

Here’s the Freese-Notis (podcast) weather forecast for Atlantic and the KJAN listening area, and weather stats for Atlantic from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson…

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414 AM CDT SAT MAY 4 2013

EARLY THIS MORNING...LIGHT RAIN. BREEZY. NORTH WIND 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. CHANCE OF RAIN NEAR 100 PERCENT.

TODAY...LIGHT RAIN THROUGH MID MORNING…THEN RAIN SHOWERS IN THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE UPPER 40S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 80 PERCENT.

TONIGHT...CLOUDY. LIGHT SHOWERS LIKELY THROUGH MIDNIGHT…THEN A CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. AREAS OF FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOW IN THE MID 40S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH. CHANCE OF SHOWERS 70 PERCENT.

SUNDAY...AREAS OF FOG THROUGH MID MORNING. MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS. WARMER. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S. NORTH WIND AROUND 10 MPH.

SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY THROUGH MIDNIGHT THEN BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 40S. NORTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

MONDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE MID 60S. NORTHEAST WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

MONDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 40S.

TUESDAY...PARTLY SUNNY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH AROUND 70.

Due to recent rain and snow events, the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency has reduced the grassland and field fire danger rating to “Low.” The risk factor had been in the “Moderate” category over the past week. Officials say the latest rating will be in effect until at least Monday, May 6th.

The Freese-Notis (podcast) weather forecast for Atlantic and the KJAN listening area, and weather data for Atlantic…

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330 AM CDT FRI MAY 3 2013

EARLY THIS MORNING…CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.

TODAY…CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW IN THE MORNING…THEN LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW LIKELY IN THE AFTERNOON. BREEZY. LITTLE OR NO SNOW ACCUMULATION. HIGH AROUND 40. TEMPERATURE STEADY OR SLOWLY FALLING IN THE AFTERNOON. NORTH WIND 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 70 PERCENT.

TONIGHT…RAIN…BREEZY. LOW IN THE UPPER 30S. NORTH WIND 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 35 MPH. CHANCE OF RAIN 80 PERCENT.

SATURDAY…LIGHT RAIN LIKELY. BREEZY…WARMER. HIGH IN THE LOWER 50S. NORTHEAST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. CHANCE OF RAIN 60 PERCENT.

SATURDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY WITH A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN. LOW IN THE LOWER 40S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH THROUGH MIDNIGHT.

SUNDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S. NORTH WIND AROUND 10 MPH.

SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE MID 40S.

MONDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN. HIGH IN THE MID 60S.

The snowstorm that hit the State overnight into early this (Thursday) morning, dumped up to nearly a foot of snow in northern Iowa. In Hancock County, 11-inches fell in the town of Britt, taking out tree branches. Near Whittemore, in Palo Alto County, 7.3-inches of heavy wet snow caused power lines and tree limbs to snap. Seven-inches of snow also fell in Emmet County, but there were no reports of damage.

In western Iowa, snowfall measured up to 6.2-inches over Harrison, and a small portion of northwest Pottawattamie County, while others in that same area saw between four-and five-inches covering the ground. Some surrounding received anywhere from three-to four inches of snow. A little further east, 2.3-inches of snow fell here in Atlantic, at the KJAN Studios, one-inch fell in Massena, while portions of central Iowa received just under one-inch of snow, including at the National Weather Service office in Johnston.

Some communities in our listening area, further to the north, received between three-and four-inches, including Jamaica, in Guthrie County, which reported 3.1-inches of snow. The heavy, slushy snow caused some traffic problems. Minor accidents were reported at some locations, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.