QUIETING DOWN...

The weekend got off to a roaring start across the central part of the country. Temperatures soared near and above 100 in parts of Texas and Oklahoma. Instability reached near record values and storms erupted in the afternoon and evening. Overall, there were over 700 reports of severe weather on Saturday -

In my local area, showers and thunderstorms moved through in the afternoon. One storm strengthened down in Keokuk county and began to rotate - this prompted a Tornado Warning in the evening. Large hail and even funnel clouds were reported, but the storm never produced a tornado. That was my excitement for the day! But for people, they got a different kind of show. After the rain and clouds cleared out, there was a fantastic display of the aurora borealis across parts of the Upper Midwest.

Now the weather will remain pretty calm through Monday for any Memorial Day activities across the Midwest. Temperatures won't be as warm as Sunday, but still pleasant:

Late Monday a weak cold front will move through the Upper Midwest and will likely just bring clouds along with it.

Behind this front temperatures will be *slightly* lower through the middle of the week. High pressure will also build in and keep things pretty calm through Thursday. Here are the temperature trends for the next 15 days in Cedar Rapids, Moline, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Omaha -

Temperatures just hang out close to the normal mark through the week. The next storm system arrives Thursday or Friday and the pattern becomes more active into next week. Here's the expected precipitation through Wednesday on the GFS and Euro:

Nothing too special going on here...

RK