MY LAST FULL DAY IN IOWA...
A big old spring storm brought a lousy day of weather to my area Wednesday. One that was worse in my eastern counties where clouds, wind, and chilly temperatures combined to produce a very sub-par day.
Here's what the storm looked like at the surface with a tight circulation center in Michigan wrapping in the unwanted dismal conditions.
This is what the storm looked like from over 20,000 miles in space on the GOES hi-res satellite. A dry slot evident feeding into the low pressure center in WC Michigan.
The well organized system can be seen wrapping rain back into my eastern counties in Illinois.
The Doppler estimates of rainfall show some amounts in excess of 2 inches east of the Mississippi.
Temperatures struggled to get above 50 where low clouds, wind, and showers were found. These were the 3:00 pm readings.
Many spots were 20-25 degrees colder than 24 hours earlier.
Check out the winds. Gusts up to 55 found in Iowa and Wisconsin. Thanks goodness the precipitation was rain instead of snow. This would have been a fine winter storm!
This is the trough at 500mb associated with the storm. Within the tough is Wednesday's chilly air.
Notice by Friday the mean trough is over the east and the upper air flow is flattening over the Midwest. That will allow much better weather Thursday through Saturday. Highs in my area both Thursday and Friday will reach the mid 60s and Saturday appears even warmer with readings pushing the mid 70s. There is a slight chance of showers Friday and again late in the day Saturday. These look very light if indeed they do develop. The majority of both days appears dry.
The next system is on us by Sunday and that means rain chances return. However, amounts look light as the main thrust of the rain stays south of my area. With clouds and showers, temperatures look much cooler that day. Highs will be down about 15 degrees from Saturday meaning readings close to 60. If the showers linger most of the day upper 50s are not out of the question.
That leads us into a cooler pattern next week. Here's the temperature departures days 5-10 (May 4-9th).
But, if the trends are correct, the upper air flow turns zonal by mid-May bringing at least a few days of welcome springlike warmth. These are the day 10-15 departures on the EURO
The EURO shows this for highs May 10th. I want some of that action! Time will tell.
Thursday is my last full day in Iowa for awhile. I have mixed emotions about that. Big changes ahead for me and my family. Gonna miss all of you back here in the homeland! Roll weather...TS
