345 AM CST MON FEB 18 2013 …WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM CST THIS EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM CST THIS EVENING, FOR PARTS OF WESTERN IOWA, INCLUDING CRAWFORD AND CARROLL COUNTIES IN THE KJAN LISTENING AREA.

* TIMING…WINDS WILL INCREASE FROM THE NORTHWEST BY MIDDAY AND CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN INTO THE AFTERNOON. STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED FROM LATE AFTERNOON INTO EARLY EVENING BEFORE SUBSIDING VERY GRADUALLY OVERNIGHT.

* WINDS…SUSTAINED WINDS WILL INCREASE TO AROUND 30 MPH BY MID AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY EVENING. WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 45 MPH WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE DURING THIS TIME.

* IMPACTS…THE WIND WILL MAKE DRIVING HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES DIFFICULT AND BLOW LOOSE OBJECTS ABOUT.

329 AM CST MON FEB 18 2013 …WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM CST THIS EVENING…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA/VALLEY HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM CST THIS EVENING. THE ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR MONONA AND HARRISON COUNTIES IN THE KJAN LISTENING AREA.

* TIMING...STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA THIS MORNING AND CONTINUE GUSTY INTO THIS EVENING BEFORE DECREASING SLIGHTLY.

* WINDS...SPEEDS SHOULD REACH 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH.

* IMPACTS...THE STRONG WINDS WILL MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT FOR HIGH PROFILE OR LIGHT VEHICLES. OUTDOOR OBJECTS SHOULD BE SECURED SO THEY ARE NOT BLOWN ABOUT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT SUSTAINED WIND SPEEDS BETWEEN 30 TO 39 MPH OR GUSTS BETWEEN 45 TO 57 MPH ARE EXPECTED. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT…ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.

SKYSCAN FORECAST           SATURDAY FEBRUARY 16TH, 2013

Today: Partly Cloudy.  High 35.  SE @ 5-10.

Tonight: Partly Cloudy.  Low 20.  SE @ 5-10.

Sunday: Partly Cloudy.  High 50.  S 5-10.

Monday: Partly Cloudy to Mostly Cloudy.  High upper 30’s.

Tuesday: Mostly Cloudy with clearing skies through the day.  High in the low 20’s.

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The National Weather Service in Des Moines says a large storm system may impact the central US toward the end of next week. Officials say the system could potentially bring accumulating snowfall to much of the area, with significant snowfall amounts possible. Gusty winds are also of concern with this system.

The Weather Service says it’s still too early to determine at this time, specifics as the exact track, strength, and timing of the system, but persons should continue to monitor the forecast for the latest details in the coming days. Prior to this system, very mild air will move into the area this Sunday sending temperatures well above average.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Mandatory water cutbacks may be employed this summer in some parts of Iowa if the drought lingers.  Tim Hall is bureau chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ geology and water survey staff and he told a legislative panel on Thursday that the situation was worst in northwest Iowa.

The state has the power to prioritize water use based on a system developed in the 1950s. Hall says the system has never been used and won’t be used this summer either. He says conservation decisions are best left to local communities because situations vary so widely from one county or part of the state to the next.

The National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln says nearly a quarter of Iowa remains in severe or extreme drought.

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

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TODAY…PARTLY SUNNY UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON THEN BECOMING CLOUDY. COLDER. SCATTERED FLURRIES IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE LOWER 30S. NORTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY THROUGH MIDNIGHT THEN BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY. SCATTERED FLURRIES THROUGH MIDNIGHT. LOW 10 TO 15. NORTHWEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SATURDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY THROUGH MIDNIGHT THEN BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY. NOT AS COLD. LOW IN THE MID 20S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SUNDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. WARMER. HIGH IN THE MID 50S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

SUNDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 30S.

WASHINGTONS BIRTHDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY…COLDER. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S.

Here’s the (Podcast) weather forecast for Atlantic and the KJAN listening area, and weather data for Atlantic….

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342 AM CST THU FEB 14 2013

TODAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 40S. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 35 MPH.

TONIGHT…CLOUDY…BREEZY…COLDER. LIGHT SNOW LIKELY IN THE EVENING…THEN A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW BEFORE MIDNIGHT. SCATTERED FLURRIES AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 1 INCH. LOW 15 TO 20. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW 60 PERCENT.

FRIDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. COLDER. SCATTERED FLURRIES. HIGH IN THE MID 20S. NORTHWEST WIND AROUND 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. SCATTERED FLURRIES. LOW AROUND 10. NORTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 30S. WEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. NOT AS COLD. LOW IN THE LOWER 20S.

SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. WARMER. HIGH IN THE LOWER 50S. LOW IN THE UPPER 20S.

Despite the threat of continued drought, the U-S Army Corps of Engineers is planning on a “normal” navigation season for 2013 on the Missouri River. Bill Doan, a water engineer in the Corps’ Omaha office, says levels on the river will be low, but it will be navigable. “On March 1st, which is typically near the start of the runoff season, the basic simulation shows system storage at 48.5 million acre feet, which means that the reservoir system would start the runoff season 8.3 million acre feet below the base of the annual flood control zone, or in other words, 8.3 million acre feet below the top of the carryover multiple use zone.” Based on the water available now, Doan says the Corps expects an eight-month navigation season in the year ahead.

“We would be providing minimum service flow support to navigation for the first part of the navigation season,” Doan says. “Flows for this level of service are designed to provide an eight-feet deep by 200-feet wide navigation channel and would require Gavins Point monthly average releases ranging from 20,000 to 28,000 (cubic feet per second).” Doan says the low water now in the up-river reservoirs will definitely have an impact on hydro-electric power production.

“The forecast for 2013 energy generation, with the basic simulation, is 7.9 billion kilowatt hours,” Doan says. “With normal reservoir levels and releases, we would expect about 10 billion kilowatt hours.” River levels were exceptionally low all of last year due to the severe drought, which followed record flooding on the Missouri which lasted a large portion of 2011.

(Radio Iowa)