It was a cold start to Sunday across the Upper Midwest as temperatures fell below the freezing mark. In fact Moline set a record - tying the old record that was set 41 years ago! It warmed up nicely in the afternoon and now the spring weather will resume as we begin the week. In fact I think many of us in my local area will get close to, if not hit, the 80 degree mark Monday afternoon. A big 'ol ridge will be parked over the eastern half of the country. There will be plenty o

If there is one thing for certain about spring in the Midwest, it's that nothing is certain. Take April temperatures for example. The first 19 days of the month we're pretty darn fresh. Here in Cedar Rapids lows were mainly in the teens and 20s and highs 30s and 40s. That 19 day stretch temperatures averaged 13 below normal making it the coldest start ever to the month of April. For good measure we also picked up 6" of snow. Then the switch was flipped and the next 7 days wer

It's finally starting to look like spring around here! The warmth and sunshine is allowing the grass to green up and trees and flowers and starting to bloom. Farmers are out in the fields and we've seen some big improvements in the soil temperatures. Check out the soil temperatures from this past Sunday - Add plentiful sunshine and temperatures in the 60s and 70s... and by Thursday the soil temperatures went way up - 50 degrees is the number farmers look for to plant and we'v

While temperatures have improved around the Midwest, one thing that continues to plague my central and southern counties is a lack of precipitation. The 7 day totals look like this. The past 2 weeks like this. Note the dryness in southern Iowa and northern Missouri. Here's the month of April to date. In Cedar Rapids we are 2.1" below normal. The past year has continued dry in the same general areas. In Cedar Rapids the deficit over the past year has ballooned to 12.42". Dryne

Hello Dear Readers! I am off to parts unknown (Morocco and the Sahara Desert) and for the most part will not have internet availability. So this chapter will have to suffice until I come back. However it is definitely one of the most adventurous escapades I encountered while weaving my way through the flora and fauna of the Northwoods. I will have many, many chapters to continue this saga with when I return. In the meantime, we've had quite a spate of good news on the healt