Today: Isolated showers & thunderstorms this morning, otherwise party cloudy. High 92. SE @ 10-15 mph.
Tonight: Osolated showers and thunderstorms possible, otherwise P/cldy. Low around 70. SE @ 5-10.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy w/isolated morning showers/thunderstorms possible. High 96. SW @ 10-20.
Friday: Isolated showers & thunderstorms possible early. High 88.   A
Saturday: P/cldy. High 86.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 92. Our Low this morning, 57. Last year on this date the High was 91 and the Low was 67. The Record High was 103 in 1946 and the Record Low was 42 in 1974.

(Radio Iowa) – High temperatures in the southwestern U-S are forecast to climb as high as 118 degrees over the next few days and there are fears that extreme heat could expand into the Midwest. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, says he’s concerned Iowa’s drought conditions will continue to worsen. “The Southwest right now, because of the dry conditions, that tends to reinforce that dome of high pressure,” Todey says. “There are hints in the models about it sticking that way but the models aren’t consistent of saying that’s going to be the case and it’s definitely going to move over you folks.”

Forecasters are calling for warmer-than-normal highs this week across Iowa, again, in the 80s and 90s with little chance for rain. Summer starts this coming weekend so we’re heading into the hot months. “By the time we reach mid-June, we’re worried about average precipitation and precipitation starts to fall off, climatologically,” Todey says. “We still have warm periods ahead of us, so it still has me concerned.”

Dennis Todey

The computer forecast models are still not providing a clear picture of what may lie ahead.  “Does it kind of break down a little bit and as we say warmer-than-average and cooler-than-average bouncing back and forth or does it lock in?” Todey says. “Right now, we haven’t seen it lock in just yet so we’re being optimistic but there’s not good indicators on this overall, other than what we can see in the six- to ten- to 14-day outlooks.”

The latest drought monitor shows about 90-percent of Iowa is in abnormally dry or drought conditions, with more than half the state under moderate to severe drought.

Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 90. N @ 10-15 mph.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low around 60. Light & variable breeze.
Tomorrow: Mostly Sunny, with a high near 87. E/Se @ 5-10.
Wednesday: P/Cldy. High around 88.
Thursday: P/Cldy w/a chance of showers and thunderstorms.  High around 92.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 94. Our Low was 55. Last year on this date the High was 86 and the Low was 62. The Record High on June 14th in Atlantic, was 97 in 1987, and the Record Low was 41 in 1933.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming southwest 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 63. West southwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming light and variable after midnight.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming east northeast 5 to 7 mph in the morning.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming east northeast around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 90.

Skyscan Forecast  Saturday, June 12, 2021  Dan Hicks

Today: Mostly sunny. Less humid. N @ 10. High 87.

Tonight: Fair to partly cloudy. Light and variable winds. Low 53.

Sunday: Partly cloudy. Winds variable 5-10. High 89.

Sunday Night: Clear. Calm. Low 63.

Monday: Partly cloudy. High 87.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High 89.

Yesterday’s high at the KJAN studios was 85 and the low this morning was 62. We picked up .2″ of rainfall at the studios. This day last year the high was 90 and the low was 55. All-time record high for today’s date is 95 set in 1892 and the low 38 set in 1903. Sunrise this morning is 5:45 a.m. and sunset is 8:54 p.m.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch that was in effect until 11:30-a.m., for Monona, Harrison, Pottawattamie and Shelby Counties, was cancelled at 11:15-a.m. There were no reports of damage.  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH remains in effect for the far southwest corner counties of Iowa, until 3:00-p.m. (Mills, Montgomery, Fremont and Page Counties).

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS EXTENDED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 257 TO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN IOWA:

HARRISON POTTAWATTAMIE SHELBY MONONA. The Main threat is damaging winds.

(Radio Iowa) – The new U-S Drought Monitor map shows 90 percent of Iowa is experiencing some type of dryness or drought. The Iowa D-N-R’s Tim Hall says only one section of the state has not water worries. “Southeastern Iowa way down in the corner — they’re not showing any dryness or drought — but virtually the rest of the state is,” Hall says. The area of concern in northwest Iowa has grown a little bit. So, certainly the conditions are not trending in the direction we’d like to see them.

The map shows 32 percent of the state rated as abnormally dry, 47 percent rated as in moderate drought and 10 percent rated as severe drought. Hall says streamflow conditions across approximately half of the state are now classified as “below normal.” He says the dry conditions in the north are now impacting things downstream. “As that lack of runoff works its way down through the system, we are seeing that reflected in the watersheds that run through central Iowa,” according to Hall. “So even though we may not be a dry here as in some parts of the state. The parts that feed those river systems have been exceptionally dry, so we are starting to see very low stream levels in parts of the state.”

Hall says the dry weather is worse this year because there wasn’t much moisture in the reserve. “Last year we entered 2000, we entered the growing season with a significant supply of groundwater and soil moisture leftover from 2018 and ’19, which were really wet years. He says. “This year — 2021 — we came into the year with almost no excess soil moisture and groundwater. So, it’s as if we started with an empty tank.” Hall says the weather data for June, July and August show there is a chance to run things around. “Over that three-month period statewide we average right at about an inch per week of rainfall. And that’s a pretty hefty chunk of moisture,” Hall says. “If we were able to get normal rainfall for the next three months — I think we would be in pretty good shape. The challenge is, every week that goes by without rain puts us another inch behind.”

He says you always have to wait and see with the weather. “We’re not panicking yet. But we’d really like to see some rain here in the month of June to start to replenish some of the soil moisture and start to get us back on track,” Hall says.  Some cities are asking residents to be smart about their water use as the dry conditions continue. Hall says those measures may be ramped up more if the lack of rainfall continues.