The first day of March was a very pleasant day with sunshine and temperatures in the upper 40s and 50s. One almost forgot about winter and hoped the end of meteorological winter was the end of the actual winter season as well. But then, a cold front swept the state during the evening and dropped temperatures below freezing and a brisk wind pushed wind chills to values below zero in some locations. The featured chart shows the change for Denison from a high yesterday of 57 to a wind chill of -5 this morning.

Voting:
Good = 14
Bad = 4

Tags:   front  

A passing storm system brought very warm air into southeastern Iowa on Monday. Temperatures reached the lower 70s while the northwestern half of the state struggled in the 30s. The featured map presents the high temperature on Monday with Keokuk shown at 76 degrees and Spencer at only 28 degrees, a 48 degree difference! This very warm air helped to produce hail and tornadoes yesterday over Illinois and into Wisconsin. There will be no lucky ones in the state today with cold air in firm control.

Voting:
Good = 27
Bad = 9

Tags:   front  

34 degrees difference was the separation of high temperatures between Iowa Falls (IFA) and Newton (TNU) on Tuesday. The large gradient in temperatures was thanks to a warm front that helped to develop strong thunderstorms Tuesday evening bringing very large hail and damaging winds. After a cool day today, temperatures are expected to warm into the weekend with plenty of sunshine expected.

Voting:
Good = 41
Bad = 3

Tags:   front  

The featured time series is from the weather station on top of the Agronomy Building in Ames on Tuesday. A cold front dropped temperatures mid morning, but some clearing and warmer air worked its way into the state by mid afternoon allowing temperatures to recover some before sunset. The resulting curve looks as if somebody got hungry and took a bite out of it!

Voting:
Good = 22
Bad = 6

Tags:   front  

The featured chart is of recent air temperatures and wind chill values from the Des Moines Airport. Sunday afternoon saw an impressive push of warm air into the state with highs reaching the 50s to even 70. A strong cold front then swept the state clean of this warm air late Sunday afternoon. Wind chill temperatures are now some 60 degrees colder in a period of less than one day.

Voting:
Good = 16
Bad = 6

Tags:   front  

The weather this past weekend was a wild ride with snow, rain, freezing rain, sleet and even thunder reported in the state. Temperatures started on Saturday below freezing with snow and sleet changing over to freezing rain and then rain. A surge of warm air rushed into the state Saturday night melting much of the frozen ice and snow, but quickly refroze by Sunday morning as very cold air was ushered in by a cold front. Temperatures then cooled off into the teens and single digits Sunday night to where we are this fine Monday morning. What a weekend!

Voting:
Good = 21
Bad = 5

Tags:   front  

A dry line is a term used by meteorologists to describe a boundary between moist and very dry air masses, but it differs from a cold front such that temperatures are often as warm or warmer behind the boundary. These boundaries are common in places like Texas and Oklahoma, but are sometimes brought to Iowa by powerful storm systems like the one we experienced yesterday and often also spark severe weather. The featured image is from IEM Northeast Ames sensor showing the drop in dew point with the passage of the dry line.

Voting:
Good = 23
Bad = 16

Tags:   front  

A front staled out over Northeast Iowa on Sunday seperating distinct air masses for most of the day. The featured chart is a temperature comparison between Oelwien and Decorah, who are only seperated by 50 miles. Places further to the east even struggled to get out of the 40s, while most of Iowa was in the lower 80s. This boundary will lift further north today allowing places like Decorah to enjoy the 80s as well.

Voting:
Good = 22
Bad = 5

Tags:   front  

The featured time series is from the Worthington, MN KELO WeatherNet site, which is in SW Minnesota. The long advertised cold front has been waffling around over NW Iowa for the past 2 days, but is slowing making progress SE this morning. On the plot, it appears it went through Worthington shortly after 4 AM and has dropped its temperature by 17 degrees thus far. This pattern will be common for most of the Iowa today with even colder air then working into the state later today.

Voting:
Good = 23
Bad = 11

Tags:   front  

A strong warm front was bisecting the state yesterday. Depending on which side of the front you were, your Sunday was either hot and muggy or cool and damp. The front has shifted south a bit this morning.

Tags:   front  

A warm front made its way into Western Iowa on Monday. This resulted in an amazing contrast in temperatures. SW Iowa warmed almost to 80°F, while NE Iowa suffered with snow showers and much cooler temperatures.

Tags:   front  

A warm front lifted north into Iowa yesterday bringing much warmer temperatures for those south of the front. North of the front, temperatures were about 10 to 20 degrees cooler.

Tags:   front