Spring update #3 Tree Leaf out begins, First Daffodil of the Season

Willow with new leaves emerging with Elm in flower behind March 21st 2015

Spring is continuing to progress here in Southern Iowa and now it is really starting to become visible to many residents. Lawns have begun to turn green and early trees and shrubs such as Lilac bushes and Willow have begun to develop leaves adding a rare hint of green on a relatively dull landscape. My Northern Gold forsythia has just started to bloom today which adds vivid yellow. I will post photos once it reaches full flower. As for trees, Silver Maples have completed their flowering but Red Maple flower buds are starting to open. Elms are still in full swing but all of these trees in their flowering stage do not appear to be doing much of anything to most people unless you look closely. Ornamental trees such as Crabapples, Magnolias, Redbuds and Ornamental pear all have buds swelling and breaking but not much easily visual is going on. I noticed my Magnolia has shed the first layer of its buds and flower petals usually become visible next, in the weeks to come they will become spectacular.

 

Tete a Tete Daffodil March 20th 2015

In spring bulbs We have left Crocus season and have entered the Daffodil season as the first Daffodil opened on the first day of spring! ( March 20th ) Daffodils are my favorite flower and I especially like this Tete a Tete variety which is a miniature yellow Daffodil. They tend to be earlier then standard Daffodils but even they are not far behind and will be blooming in a few days.

Siberian Squill March 21st 2015

Siberian Squill bloomed this week as well. These are another "minor"  flowering spring bulb. Only 3" tall but their striking blue flowers look fantastic next to the Yellow Daffodils!

Spring bulbs garden March 21st 2015

Here is a look at how the garden as a whole looks this week. As can be seen miniature Daffodils have begun to flower. Standard daffodils are getting very close to blooming and now just barely see the flower buds on the tulips which means they will not be far behind either. The next 2-3 weeks will be very beautiful week to be in Southern Iowa as some of the most beautiful flowering trees and plants will start to fill our everyday landscapes! Please take a little time to go outside enjoy this wonderful time of year.

2/1/15 Central Iowa Snowstorm Report

Snowfall in Cumming, IA February 1st

Our weekend snowstorm has ended here in central and southern Iowa leaving behind a think blanket of snow ranging from 12 to as high as 14 inches. The concentrated totals between 12 and 14 inches seems to be confined to around from Madrid and the north side of the Des Moines metro eastward through parts of Marshall and Jasper counties.  Here in Cumming I got a hefty one foot of snow. This came on the heels of a very mild end January, and a relatively quiet snowfall season because this snow by far surpasses anything we've had around here so far. Everyone remembers the 50s we had last week week, the ground was thawed and spring bulbs were starting to peek out, So much for an early spring in January! It's this mild airmass that actually helped feed even more moisture into the storm causing the high amounts. The snowfall is so thick I would not be surprised if the ground remained thawed underneath until the snow melts.

Snow covering spruce trees February 1st 2015

Our storm started on the west coast before moving into the middle of the country. Ahead of it continued our mild air mass, in fact the storm started as rain that was falling much of Saturday. I received 0.21" of rain before it started to change over to snow. Colder air was pulled in from the north and temperatures fell to about 33-34.F where is staid for the duration of the storm. Rain turned to heavy snow in this part of Iowa Saturday right around dusk and it lasted all night long and even into much of Sunday. Travel was inhibited and most people staid home, the convenient Sunday timing kept travel hazards to a minimum. Sunday afternoon winters cold air was finally pulled in and temperatures fell into the teens where they will stay for at least one day.

Heavy wet snow causing branches to be weighted down

The snow in nature was a classic concrete style snow. Very wet and heavy. A lack of wind and stickiness of the snow caused it to stick to tree branches and causing some breakage leading to power outages. At one point there were a couple thousand without power around the Des Moines metropolitan area. I found several large tree limbs that had broken off around my neighborhood, thankfully it was minimum around here and the power staid on, which was not the case in all areas. Looks like winter has finally really hit us here in Iowa. When can we look foreword to some decent melting? Not until next weekend!

Redirecting

This is a post to let my viewers know I have moved my blog. About a year ago now I have been invited to make weather posts at a very well known website called Iowa Weather Network. They welcomed the same kinds of posts I've been making here, including my horticultural posts, they even created a gardening tab just for me! For the past year I've been making double sets of posts, one here and then copying the same post and making one to Iowa Weather Network. I also stopped making forecast posts which other staff members of Iowa Weather Network can provide for me. As for my remaining posts, I have received a much higher frequency of viewers and a wider market at Iowa Weather Network so I've decided it would be easier just to maintain one blog with them. I will be keeping this blog open for sentimental reasons that I've had it since 2008.


By focusing on just 1 blog viewers can expect  higher quality posts from me and forecasting brought back into service by other members. There are also many great add ons there.

 For continued service from me and other great services please go to Iowa Weather Network and be sure to look up the gardening tab!

Fall color report #7 Peak color arrives in Southern Iowa!

Fall color in a public area near Downtown Des Moines October 23rd 2014

We have reached peak color here in Des Moines! Color is at its highest and and is not expected to get brighter here in southern Iowa. Even interesting to note, even though we have reached peak there is still a descent amount of green in some areas. About 90% of trees have turned color here in Des Moines. This year has been a great year for colors as they have been outstanding. Oaks are beautiful shades of orange, burgundy and yellow. Maples are orange, yellow and red. Hickory trees are golden yellow, Ginkgo trees are gold, and burning bushes and sumac are the most intense red at this time. It's a great time to view fall colors so make sure you get out there! This will be the last weekend for best viewing! Warm temperatures ahead will likely quickly expire the best colors. Don't forget about Iowas native prairie areas! Prairie are their most beautiful in fall when grasses turn in their fall colors. I drove past some over the past couple days and they are just outstanding right now!

Fall color report #7

The regional map reviles that the northern part of Iowa is now past peak and the best colors have faded. The rest of the start, including southern and parts of central Iowa are at peak now and should be enjoyed! Friends in Northern Missouri, Kansas and Southern Illinois should be prepared to be next in line for peak fall color, as they will be there next week. I expect because of the warmth ahead, most of Iowa will be past peak by mid to end of the week next week.

Fall color report #6 Color is peaking or high across all of Iowa. Now is the time to enjoy!

Fall colors in Sugar maple next to Hyvee in Ankeny, IA October 19th

Fall color continues to progress very fast here in southern Iowa. Color is now abundant and beautiful in all trees species. Maples are turning beautiful shades of burgundy, fire red,orange and yellow. Silvers maples and Hickories are turning golden yellow. Oaks are turning yellow and red. 63rd street between West Des Moines and Norwalk is especially beautiful right now. Looking at the entire tree canopy shows color is high and painted with beautiful colors, and it looks great with the Des Moines city skyline! I would rate Des Moines at High Color with 80% of trees now turned colors. Peak fall color should happen by the end of this upcoming week. Now is the time to see colors in this part of Iowa so get out and enjoy!

Fall color report #5

Now the entire state of Iowa is either in high or peak color. Fall color is now at its peak roughly north of Highway 20. Spencer is still holding only peak color, but I've heard that trees are loosing leaves quite fast in the northern part of the state. South of 20 high color is being found and it is great for viewing. I expect the northern part of Iowa will be past peak by the end of next week and the remainder of the start will reach its peak in the next few days to the end of this week. Be sure to get out and enjoy these beautiful colors!

Fall Color Report #5 Color is high in the north. Also what were the highs seen on this beautiful day?

Fall color in Red Maple/Silver maple cross October 16th 2014

Fall colors are continuing to progress quickly this week across the area. I would put Des Moines now at Moderate Color with 50% of the trees now showing at least some color. Now every city street has at least some color showing in some trees. Streets with Maples, Hackberries or Ash are beautiful and showing lots of color. Burning bushes are also beautiful shades of fire red right now. Sugar Maples are especially beautiful at this time showing shades of orange red yellow and green on one tree. One spot in particular is on the east side of Des Moines in one of the neighborhoods off 235 where there are several established Sugar Maples turning. Looking at the entire tree canopy now shows dotted trees turning colors or orange, yellow and red. However even with all this there is still a large percentage of mid to late turning trees such as Oaks, Poplars and Basswoods which are still very green. Now through the next week and a half is the time to see beautiful colors in the Des Moines area and Southern Iowa.

Fall color report #5

The fall color map now shows the northern part of Iowa has reached peak  or has high color. Now is the time to view fall colors in such places as Decorah, Spencer, Mason City and Waterloo, as colors are high and as bright as they are going to be, so if in this area get out and enjoy! The rest of the state has now progressed to moderate color. Colors have actually started to come in so fast that in some areas fall colors have went right to high color category just in the last few days. Recent frosts have helped triggered the progression of colors. If everything continues as scheduled the rest of the state should start to reach high or peak color next week or the last week of October.

Today would have been a beautiful day for viewing the fall foliage as highs were in the low to mid 70s statewide. It certainly felt like a summers day in the middle of October! Below is a list of highs reached in southern central Iowa

Des Moines-Fairmount Park 76.F
Des Moines International Airport 76.F
 Perry 76.F
 Norwalk 76.F
Ankeny 75.F
Ames 75.F
 Indianola 75.F
Pella 74.F
Boone 73.F
Knoxville 73.F
Newton 73.F
Marshalltown 72.F

Fall color report #4 Cooler weather leads to increasing color change, especially in the north.

Beautiful Sugar Maple near Downtown last week

Fall color this week has picked up significantly now that cooler weather has made its way back into the picture. Sugar and Red Maples are starting to have an abundance of color. Soon those will be peaking. I've also seen Silver Maple just now starting to join the show turning yellow, Hackberry is also turning yellow. An Oak or two is starting to turn as well. In areas with early to mid changing trees, color is bright and abundant, but there are still large areas of green and even trees turning are not at their brightest yet. Ash trees have lost most of their leaves now and have past peak. Over all I would say here in Des Moines we have Low Color 40% which is a significant increase from last week. We will soon be reaching the moderate color category. I expect that will happen by the middle to end of this week.

Fall color report #4

The fall color report reflects the change in colors across the region. Moderate color has drifted into many parts of Northern Iowa including Mason City and Waterloo. I've seen photos of fall color from Northeast Iowa lately that has been very nice. If your in northern Iowa now through the next 2 weeks would be the time to start enjoying those colors! In the rest of the state low color remains but even this part of the state will soon be joining the northern part of the state, by this time northern Iowa should have an abundance of color. Peak fall colors can be expected to be moving into parts of the state by as early as next week so leafers in the north be prepared!

Fall color report #3 New modern map realeased! Moderate color far NW, Low color everywhere else.

Trees near the highway 5 bypass Des Moines metro October 7th 2014

Fall color this week here in Des Moines is pretty much exactly where we were last week. We virtually made no progression in fall colors with the exception that I've seen a few more sugar maples turning orange and red. Over all I rate Low color for Des Moines with only 20% of trees showing color. that have turned last week are quickly loosing leaves and even becoming bare. Bottomland trees such as Cottonwood and willows are just loosing leaves without even turning a color. Overall though when I look across the entire tree canopy I am amazed and how much is still green, even still looking summer-like in most areas. It will probably be towards the end of October that we peak in this part of Iowa.

 Fall color report #3

This is a brand new map I am releasing with the help of the Iowa Weather Network group I'm a part of. Thanks to Henry L. for making it. As for the Iowa fall color report. All cities are reporting low color and showing no change. This all true with the exception of Spencer, which is now reporting moderate color. The state fall color report says fall color is most brilliant near the Minnesota border on the northwest side of the state. One thing I am noticing though is that more brilliant color is slowing moving southward from the north. I expect that more color will begin to show up in northern Iowa in the next 7 days and should show up here on my next report next week. Cooler nights will trigger better colors.

Fall color report #2 Still low color all areas

Sugar maples near Kellogg, Iowa September 30th 2014

After a fast start to the fall color season, fall color progression has really slowed this week because of a spell of summer-like temperatures where we had several days in the low to mid 80s. This caused the trees that have turned to start dropping leaves quite fast, but delayed others from really turning. Ash trees are loosing leaves at a fast rate now. About the only change in Des Moines this week from last week is that more ash and some hackberry have turned and I am now seeing a few Sugar maples starting to turn orange, but for the most part I have only see dull yellow to golden yellow in those trees mentioned. In areas where there are an abundance of earlier changing trees it may appear more colorful, but mid to late turning trees are still green.

 Entire tree canopy September 30th 2014 at Rocky Creek State Park Kellogg, Iowa

As I look at the entire tree canopy there is a large percentage that has not turned. I would say were up to 20%-Low color in Des Moines and thats about it. This was enough to move us into the low category. Cold weather is expecting to move in this week which should push our fall colors out more.

Fall color report #2

Little has changed in the fall color report. The only difference is that remainder of Iowa was put into the low color category. Much of Iowa is still green at this time. Reading the state fall color report showed little change from last week in terms of color. Hopefully the next weeks colder weather will push the trees to begin turning more. If you want to see stunning fall color head to northern Minnesota and Wisconsin! Their report shows that area is peaking right now.

Iowa fall color report #1

Fall color in green ash September 22nd 2014

Fall color is quickly starting across Iowa and color has become quite abundant in earlier changing trees. This change literally seemed to occur just in the past couple of days here in the Des Moines area. Tree showing color are strictly pretty much the ash species. They are turning colors of golden yellow in many boulevards around shopping centers and along roadsides. White ash has started to turn purple as well. As one looks hard enough you can also seen Maples starting to show a hint of reds especially in silver/red crosses such as Autumn blaze maple. I also saw a few stressed Sugar maples starting to turn orange as well. However as you look across the entire tree canopy it still appears primarily green with a few patches of color here and there. I am going with %15 color change in this area, with our area showing some color and just starting for Des Moines/southern Iowa

Fall color report #1

Fall color across  Iowa show the northern and eastern part of the start is about 1 week ahead of the rest of the state. Low color is being reported in Mason City and Decorah. Here colors are more bright and there is more being seen but there is still a long ways to go before peak. The rest of the state, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Omaha/Council Bluffs are all reporting 15% with only some color being reported. Normal peak time for northern Iowa is the 1st week of October and the 2nd to 3rd weeks for the rest of Iowa.

Cold temperature report. Mid to upper 30s reported with frost in northern areas

Morning fog September 13th 2014

This morning was a very chilly morning for Iowa and the entire Midwest, thanks to a huge area of high pressure which brought a large chuck of cold air southward across the middle of the country. Lows for the first time this season fell into the middle to upper 30s. Frost was reported in such places as Ames and Cambridge. The frost was light and did not cause any damage. Metro Des Moines did not have frost due to urban heating, but there was reports of some frost on rooftops. This cold snap was very early for Iowa, as 1st frost don't normally occur until into the middle of October. During this cold snap Des Moines only had highs in the middle 50s. Thursday the 11th the high was 54.F which was a new record cold high. Highs of this level are more normal for early to mid November for this area. Other parts of Iowa were colder this morning such as Mason City which had a low of 31.F, a hard frost was reported. The good news is the sun finally came out Saturday unveiling mild day. Temperatures will slowly rise to more normal levels by mid week next week, which will be in the mid 70s. Below is a list of lows reported this morning.

Lows this morning

Ames 34.F
 Marshalltown 34.F
Boone 36.F
Newton 36.F
Ankeny 36.F
 Knoxville 36.F
Winterset 36.F
Pella 38.F 
 Indianola 38.F
Des Moines International 39.F
Des Moines-Fairmount Park neighborhood ( My Station ) 39.F
West Des Moines 40.F

September 9th 2014 storm report Sigificant flooding local area & storm chase southern Iowa, northern Missouri

Flooding from heavy rains seen in northern Missouri September 9th 2014

Southern Iowa is still dealing with the effects from flooding from our recent rains September 9th when a frontal boundary caused the storms to develop that dropped 3-5" of rain in some areas, but especially in Madison and Warren counties. Flash flooding was reported in Winterset, Norwalk, Spring Hill and Indainaola areas and included the North river flooding over parts of Highway 28 south of Norwalk. Some of the highiest rainfall reports include 5.75" from Bevington. As of 8:41pm September 11th Highway 48 south of Norwalk remains closed due to flooding, and is expected to re open mid day Friday as the river goes below flood stage. The Des Moines airport got 3.00" of rain which broke a daily record for them. My raingauge had 1.69" of rain in it continuing a very wet streak we started in August. Since August 1st we have received 12.67" of rain.  Below is a list of reports and rainfall totals on September 9th.

Norwalk 3-5" deep water on Cherry street. Street barricaded
Norwalk Highway 28 and 23rd closed, covered with water
5 miles N Indainola Summerset road closed due to flooding
4 miles SSW Winterset Pammel pard road closed due to flooding
8 miles SSW Earlham Water rescue at Pitzer Road due to flooding, no injuries
5 miles WSW East Peru 330th street closed due to flooding
 6 miles NW Pella 1" Water over Dubuque drive
Bevington 5.75"
Cumming 4.46"
Spring Hill 4.08"
Indianola 2.65"
Hartford 5.41"
Des Moines Airport 3.00"
Des Moines fairmount park ( my station) 1.69"
Clive 2.11"
Knoxville 4.00"
Pella 2.65"
Prairie City 2.86"
Newton 2.78"
Earlham 3.34"
Johnston 2.14"


Southern Iowa/Northern Missouri storm chase.


Video of inflow winds near Grand River, IA

Storm chase for the day started late and me and Alex W. We left Des Moines around 4pm and were heading for storms SW of Des Moines at Creston. We hit heavy rain and storms by the time we reached Winterset and we continued to drive through the storm down 169 then to 34 towards Murray. We took a small road,  R15 to Grand River where we finally left the rain, and there was a line of storms to our west. The video above was taken near Grand River as the storm approached. 30MPH inflow winds were measured.




Video of extreme lightning near Decatur City Sept 9th 2014

We continued south, then east towards Highway 2 near Decatur City. Here we experienced extremely close cloud to ground lightning. Several bolts struck and 2 of them I got on tape, like the one above.


Video of strong winds behind a storm near Eagleville, MO Sept 9th 2014

After sitting near Decatur City, IA we decided to go south towards the state line, on the way, we saw a tornado warning pop up for a storm over Eagleville. We crossed into Missouri and  saw the back side of the storm at Eagleville and we missed the tornado. Power was going off and on in the town. We did see more dangerous lightning and heavy rain and flash flooding.

September 4th warm temperature report low to mid 90s tied for the warmest day of the year

New Des Moines botanical gardens September 4th 2014

Today was  a toasty and windy day across Iowa as strong southwesterly winds brought the highs into the lower to middle 90s. Heat index values were over 100.F. The warmth was thanks to a low pressure system to our north causing the warm air to surge in on winds that gusting to 30MPH at times. This  warm up was in front of a much cooler airmass that is about to come down. So this could very well be one of our last real warm days of the summer season. Today tied for the warmest day of 2014 at many locations including Des Moines international with a high of 93.F. My station also tied 95.F again.

Highs and wind gusts

Des Moines Fairmount Park neighborhood 95.F
 Urbandale 95.F
Des Moines international 93.F 31MPH
 Indianola 92.F
Ames 91.F 28MPH
Pella 91.F 24MPH
Knoxville 91.F 30MPH
Ankeny 91.F 30MPH
Windsor Heights 91.F
Marshalltown 90.F 30MPH
Newton 90.F 30MPH
Boone 90.F 26MPH
Perry 90.F 29MPH
Winterset 90.F

August 31st severe weather, heavy rain and flash flooding and Nebraska, SW Iowa storm chase trip

Nebraska storm chasing trip
 

Shelf cloud west of Lincoln, NE August 31st 2014    Lincoln skyline August 31st 2014

Yesterday I had the quick opportunity to go storm chasing. Even though we knew the risk was not extreamlly high, we decided to take the risk to see something in a relatively quiet season we've had. I left West Des Moines around 1 with storm chasing friend Alex W. who drove in all the way from southern Minnesota and we headed for Nebraska and by the time we reached Omaha storms were already breaking out near the Kansas, Nebraska border.

 Wall clouds near Palmyra, Nebraska

We caught up with those storms about 40 miles southwest of Lincoln where the temperature shot up into the lower 90s with strong southerly winds. We saw elevated material quickly become nice looking shelf clouds near Crete, NE, pictured above We continued to followed these storms through SE Nebraska, we saw quarter sized hail and wall clouds all the way past the Nebraska City area into southwest Iowa. The last bout of severe weather seen was strong winds and very heavy rain in Shenandoah

 Storm clouds ahead near Lincoln, NE

One last photo you can see the edge of our large cluster of storms as we approached them from the northeast. They were looking very impressive.

Severe storm report- Central Iowa Heavy rain & flash flooding

Severe storms tracked all the way from eastern Nebraska and western Iowa before reaching the local area around 9pm last night in the form of a very large line that stretched across the entire state. This line produced wind damage, heavy rain and flash flooding in our areas as in dropped another 2-3" of rain across the area we did not need. The worst of the severe weather and damage was reported over northwest parts of the area. Many reports of 60MPH winds came in from the Dallas Center, Adel area with trees and power lines down. There was one report of minor damage in the Des Moines metro at Urbandale of trees limbs down More wind damage reports came in from Slater of trees down and Story City area of 60MPH winds. There was also 60-70MPH wind reports from Prairie City fo Knoxville areas. Des Moines international airport reported a 52MPH winds gust. There was also a funnel cloud reported southeast of Boone but a tornado did not develop. There storms were also responsible of producing flash flooding. Water was reported flowing over the roads in Minburn and near Granger. In Des Moines 6 inch water was reported over SW 9th street with cars stalling out in the water. Rainfall reports were 2-3"

At my backyard 2.45" of rain was reported bringing the August total all the way to 10.72" and I had water in the basement which I haven't had before.

Reports

Perry 58MPH wind gust
2 miles S Dawson 3" of rain fell in less then an hour
3 miles W Dallas Center 60MPH winds
Numerous reports of water over Highway 44 from Dallas Center to Minburn
10 to 12" branches down in Dallas Center
Adel Trees and powerlines down
4 miles E Minburn 64MPH wind gust
Berkley 60MPH wind gust
3 miles SW Boone Funnel cloud
 Slater, large tree limbs down
Roland 60MPH wind gust
Urbandale, Tree limbs down
2 miles SSW Prairie City 59MPH wind gust
Knoxville 71MPH wind gust

 Rainfall reports

4 miles ENE Dallas Center 2.62"
Mardrid 2.35"
Grimes 2.20"
Polk City 2.24"
Des Moines international 2.19"
Des Moines fairmount part neighborhood ( My station ) 2.45"
Ankeny 1.95"
Ames 2.22"
Nevada 2.26"
Marshalltown 2.40"

Severe weather threats today

Image from SPC

The SPC has issued a Slight Risk for severe storms for parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and South Dakota. This includes our area. There is an enhanced risk centers over Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas as well as southwest Minnesota. Depending on what happens with the current showers in Nebraska and Kansas, The storms this evening will fire over eastern Nebraska and Kansas and moved east this evening. As the storms fire there will be a risk for tornadoes. Storms will move east and transition into a line and move towards the local area likely around dusk or after dark. In our area in poses the highest risk for high winds and large hail, as well as very heavy rain and flooding. Isolated tornadoes will also be possible. Many of the local forecast models I looked at point towards Northern parts of the areas such as Ames have a higher risk for seeing severe weather. Please be aware today that there will be the risk for severe weather.

August 28th heavy rainfall event, flash flooding and river flooding reported. August now more then double the average rainfall

Low hanging fog covers Downtown Des Moines August 28th 2014

What a wet month this is turning out to be, more bouts of heavy rain impacted central Iowa yesterday, first in the morning, and then again in the evening hours. The morning storms brought half inch to an inch. The photo above was taken in Downtown Des Moines as a low cloud deck was set in. The tops of the 801 grand building and the wells Fargo building was not visible. Both bouts of rain are thanks to a frontal boundary that has been draped over Iowa for the past week. The night time storms brought the heaviest amounts of rain. Flash flooding was reported in Ames and Des Moines metro area. Lightning was also very intense and frequent. Amounts were widespread and ranged from 2-3" to as much as just under 4" in Dallas and Polk Counties. Des Moines international airport broke a record daily rainfall record for August 28th.

For Des Moines at my station say 3.07" bringing the monthly total to 8.14" which is nearly double the normal rain.

Rainfall totals for August 28th

 Adel 3.96"
 West Des Moines 3.60"
 Polk City 3.57"
Windsor Heights 3.49"
 Ames 3.29"
Norwalk 3.19"
Fairmount Park Des Moines 3.07"
 Earlham 3.06"
 Urbandale 3.00"
 Winterset 3.00"
Ankeny 2.89"
Newton 2.83"
 Bondurant 2.68"
Madrid 2.35"
Johnston 2.35"
Clive 2.27"

August 25th High temperaure report. Lower to mid 90s seen, Highest temps so far this season

Clear skies in a hot day, August 25th 2014

Yesterday and today brought very hot weather and high humidity to southern Iowa as a warm front lingered and eventually passed north of our area drawing in the heat. Highs were in the lower to middle 90s for about 4-5 days and dewpoints were in the middle to upper 70s each day producing heat index values over 100. The highest dewpoint for Des Moines was 79.F, which is normal for Florida. The highest temperatures were found in the Des Moines metro area where urban heat island brought the temperature up. These type of warm ups are not anything new to our area, in fact it is normal for this region and actually we have seen a below average number of these days. Des Moines averages one 100.F a year which we have not yet seen.  Our heat wave was a part of a much larger heat wave that brought upper 90s and 100s to places like Nebraska and Kansas. Nearby Kansas City hit 99.F during this heat wave.


Highs Sunday

Fairmount Park neighborhood ( My Station) 95.F
 Urbandale 95.F
Des Moines international 93.F
 Pella 93.F
 Indianola 93.F
Ankeny 91.F
Ames 91.F
Marshalltown 90.F
Newton 90.F
Knoxville 90.F
 Boone 90.F
Perry 89.F

August 20th storms cause flooding and dangerous lightning

Video of some of the lightning seen August 20th 2014 Yesterday during the early morning hours, several thunderstorms developed along a stationary front that was trying to push through the area. The first storms formed around 5am and then after that, waves of thunderstorms developed on this front through the mid morning hours. flooding was seen especially in the Southewest metro area where 3-5" of rain was seen in parts of West Des Moines, Cumming and Norwalk. Lightning was vivid and extreamlly dangerous and close where thunderstorms developed, and heavy rain lead to flash flooding in some areas. The most intense band of rain was centered in a very isolated area from near Dexter to Cumming and Norwalk in the SW side of the Des Moines metro. Traffic was backed up for miles on 235, 35 and even the Highway 5 bypass as the heavy storms pushed through during morning rushhour. So far at least 1 report has over 5" that fell in Cumming and other report of 3.20" that fell in Earlham. 1.47" was reported at Des Moines international airport. In my raingauge about 2 miles ENE of Downtown Des Moines in the Fairmount Park neighborhood. 0.41" fell.

Slight risk today

Slight risk

The SPC has issued a slight risk for severe weather today across much of central and northern Iowa. This risk mainly includes the risk for hail and high winds, however like yesterday a slight risk of a weak tornado is possible. Stroms will develop this afternoon and evening. 

Much needed rain across Southern Iowa. Rainfall totals topped 2" in some areas

Raindrops on a Elephant ear plant August 6th 2014

A stationary front is to thank for bringing the resent rainfall across southern Iowa late last night and this afternoon. The rain was needed to continue to add moisture to lawns and crops after a warm and fairly dry end to July and start to August. Even more added news is the rain was not extensively heavy and much of it soaked into the ground. It's been over a month since the parts of the area have seen 1+ rainfall totals. Below is a list of what was seen last night up until this evening at 8:00pm.

 Waukee 2.51"
 Windsor Heights 2.43"
Perry 2.17"
 West Des Moines 1.88"
 Des Moines, Fairmount Park- My Station. 1.83"
Des Moines international 1.61"
Johnston 1.44"
Ankeny 1.29"
Boone 1.16"
 Ames 1.08"
 Spring Hill 1.05"
Polk City 1.04"
 Story City 1.00"
 Prairie City 0.85"
Winterset 0.81"
Knoxville 0.68"
Newton 0.59"
Pella 0.42"
Marshalltown 0.39"