SUMMER MAKES A COMEBACK

Warmth and humidity have both returned now to the Midwest and it's a reminder that summer is still here. The dew points Monday afternoon were 10 to 15 degrees higher than what we experienced over the weekend.

A cold front is going to stall out in the Upper Midwest and keep humidity up and the chance for showers and thunderstorms in the forecast at least through midweek. Tuesday is going to be another warm day and it will be a bit sticky with dew points in the 60s and near 70.

Showers and storms are going to be widely scattered Tuesday afternoon with more widespread activity on Wednesday. Below is the simulated radar for Tuesday and then Wednesday -

Wednesday's system will likely provide beneficial rains to parts of the Midwest. The one thing we will have - that we haven't had in quite some time - is moisture!

Dew points are going to be in the low to mid 70s and PWATS (precipitable water values) are going ot be pushing 2 inches. It's been a while since we've seen ingredients like this come together for decent rainfall. In fact, in Cedar Rapids the last time we recorded at least a half an inch of rain in a single day was 25 days ago (back on July 20th!). Here are the rainfall projections through the next 3 days:

And now the drought monitor....

It looks like some of the areas in the severe drought are in for some rain over the next few days. Of course you don't fix a drought in a day or a week or a month. It typically takes some time, but we'll take what we can get.

After a little vacation summer is back!

RK