Not everyone got rain on Sunday, but some areas did and that's great news. We are in need of rain across the state of Iowa in particular where dry to extreme drought conditions exist right now. 

Well there will be some chances in the upcoming week but likely going to be of the hit or miss variety. So here's a look at the rainfall totals for the next seven days on the European model:

 And the GFS:

 So obviously not a ton of agreement and things will...

There's no denying it -- we need rain! There is a chance Sunday and Monday for rain, but there are some disagreements on how it happens. First let's talk about the continued heat on Sunday.

Temperatures will be back in the 80s to near 90 degrees in the afternoon -

Humidity will be high once again. Oof did summer come back in with a vengeance... 

The hot temperatures and high humidity will lead to heat index values near and above 100 degrees.

 The hea...

The first week of August around the central Midwest was about as good as you could hope for. Cool temperatures, low humidity, and dry sunny conditions...it doesn't get much better than that. Here's the temperature departures reflecting the extent of the cool air.

 Here's the total rainfall. What little fell was confined to the southern third of my area.

The party is over for the picture perfect weather as a return of southerly winds brings summery...

The latest United States drought monitor issued Thursday was a grim one for much of Iowa. 80 percent of the state is now considered to be in abnormally dry conditions. Of that number, 55 percent is thought to be in moderate, severe, to even extreme drought conditions. The worst of it is west of I-35 and centered over the west-central portions of the state. Three months ago none of Iowa had any dryness indicated.

Here are the specific rainfall depa...

You may recall that just before summer started (meteorological summer is the period June-August), that I put out a forecast calling for near to slightly below normal temperatures. I was taking a beating on that with hot weather in June. However, recently we've seen a dramatic turn-around, especially the past 30 days. That's evened the playing field. Here's where we stand now with summer departures. Near to slightly below normal. At least for now,...