
BACKING OFF ON THE HEAT WAVE, STILL TOASTY...
It's certainly getting hotter and more humid this week but there has been a trend that has backed off on the heat. This is particularly concerning a cold front moving through Wednesday - which I discussed in my last post. Let's walk through the week. After a cold front Sunday night, the sun will be out Monday and temperatures will rise in the 80s: The winds pick up out of the south on Tuesday and the heat will grow: Humidity will be elevated as well: That will lead to heat in

TURNING THE CORNER...
We've had some really pleasant weather lately across the Upper Midwest -- too pleasant for July. All good things must come to an end and we are going to be turning the corner into some serious heat next week. Temperatures have been running near/below normal the last several days in the Upper Midwest: All that heat that's been off to our south and east and west will be heading this way. This big area of high pressure and hot air will be building in as the week goes on: Tempera

LIVING ON THE EDGE, BUT NOT FOR LONG...
When I think back on the month of July my initial thoughts are that overall it was warm, and above the norm. However, spurts of amazing weather like we are enjoying right now have balanced out some pretty intense periods of heat and humidity. When you look at the numbers, it's basically a wash. Here's what the monthly temperature departures look like through July 28th What the graphic tells us is that its been a tough summer for heat just west and south of us where a persiste

HIGHWAY TO HEAT...
The road of weather is full of twists and turns with straight-away stretches that last for days. Sometimes you need the GPS, others you don't. Right now we're on freshly paved interstate that will take us on a pleasant path right on into the weekend...cruise control if you will. Then we head up a big hill that ends with full on heat and humidity. Of course, there's no turning back when you travel this road so enjoy the ride while it lasts, the cruise control only lasts for a

TORNADO SEASON, HEAT TO COME...
The severe weather season started strong, especially in Iowa with an EF4 tornado in early-March and an EF3 April 12th. The Winterset tornado March 5th reached EF4 strength with 170 mph winds. It was the strongest in Iowa since October of 2013. 7 people were killed. The 7 deaths were the most in Iowa since 2008. Iowa averages 1 tornado fatality per year. Alabama is first with an average of 18 followed by Missouri with 12. Illinois averages 2. Just over a month after the Winter