The major concern at the moment is if we will see freezing weather again this spring. The warm winter and extremely warm March have provoked much of our vegetation to grow and a hard freeze now would damage the more sensitive crops. The featured chart presents the last day each spring that the temperature was below 32 and 29 degrees Fahrenheit. While there has been another year with such an early date of the last sub 29 degree day, it seems rather unlikely that we could go through all of April without a freezing temperature below 32. The immediate term forecast continues the warmth, but perhaps a big storm is brewing next week.

Voting:
Good = 20
Bad = 12

Tags:   spring  

It probably sounds like a "Debbie Downer" to point out that the very warm air today will eventually give way to much colder temperatures before spring is over. The featured chart presents the yearly combination of warmest temperature prior to 17 February and then the coldest temperature for the rest of spring after that day. In all cases, temperatures below 15 degrees have been observed with plenty of values below zero! Focusing back on the positives, warm and moist air is streaming into the state this morning with highs expected to top out in the 60s!

Voting:
Good = 14
Bad = 8

Tags:   spring  

Wow, after being stuck in winter for a period seeming like forever, the warmer air this past weekend sure felt nice and makes spring feel like it is not that far away. The featured chart presents the climatology of when the first occurrence of a temperature happens in the new year. The blue line can be thought of the earliest a given temperature has been observed and the red line would be the latest we have waited for a given temperature in a given year. The green line is the average date of the first observation. So for mid February, we'd expect to have seen at least one day in the lower 50s after 1 January. The turquoise line shows the pain that occurred last year when we had to wait until March to see a temperature above 40.

Voting:
Good = 30
Bad = 4

Tags:   spring   highs  

A chilly start on Sunday was quickly erased by bright sunshine and warm southwesterly winds. Temperatures recovered about 30 degrees, which is about what can be expected this time of year. The featured histogram is of observed difference between low and high temperature on 4 May including all sites in Iowa. The average is around 23 degrees. For Monday, we have a slighly warmer start with temperatures in the upper 40s, so adding 30 degrees to that will put us near 80!

Voting:
Good = 22
Bad = 13

Tags:   spring