When I'm wondering about weather folklore and historical events this is the man I go to. With more than 50 years of statistical and observational research, he's the dude! When it comes to lunar cycles, woolly bear caterpillars, insects, bugs, and animals, he tracks them, records them, and establishes ties to weather patterns. Only one person takes climatology to a level like this. His name is Steve Gottschalk by way of Lowden, Iowa. He's a knowledgeable and interesting man. I

We were burning down the house Tuesday as a burst of late season heat brought record highs to much of the central Midwest. Every major reporting station in my area broke its record for the day. Here's the numbers. The 93 in Dubuque broke a long standing record of 127 years set in 1895. These readings in the low to mid 90s, were a good 20-25 degrees above the norms which are now in the low to mid 70s. Here's a look at the departures from average. The heat came with humidity to

We've got some big changes coming on the thermometer in the next 24 hours, just in time for the official start of fall. Before I get to the potential of near record heat, a couple comments about the past weekend. First and foremost, a recap of the rains which in the SW half of my area were significant and beneficial from several rounds of storms both Saturday and Sunday. Here's the Doppler estimates of what fell. Many areas from I-80 south picked up 1-3" totals over the two d

Strong thunderstorms will move through portions of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri late Sunday. The greatest risk is likely south of I-80 for tornadoes, large hail and strong winds. Here's the Tornado Watch: Here's a graphic from the National Weather Service in Des Moines highlighting the locations and hazards: The tornado risk will gradually lower as the night goes on, but storms with strong winds and hail will continue overnight to the southeast of the Quad Cities: We'll dry ou

Rounds of showers and thunderstorms have been coming through the region to start the weekend and more is on the way. There were some strong storms too with hail and heavy rain. Storms will continue overnight into early Sunday morning: The atmosphere will attempt to recharge in the afternoon, and if it does then some additional strong storms will be possible Sunday afternoon. The highest chance will be into Illinois: The risk has shifted further southeast due to the activity S