DO I HAVE A WEEKEND FOR YOU!

There's an old saying that you have to experience the bad to appreciate the good. Well, for many of you here's the bad from the recent past. This is the October snowfall summary for the United States and how it compares to the average of the last 11 October's

Many places broke early-season and monthly snowfall records from the Rockies to the Northern Plains/Upper Midwest. A snowy and cold start to the winter ahead.

Then came November and in came the good, and boy are we appreciating it. Thursday was the 3rd consecutive day much of my area hit the 70 degree mark.

In many areas there are signs that the streak of 70 degree days could last into Monday making for a remarkable stretch of seven days at or above 70 degrees. This chart from the Iowa Mesonet shows the frequency of having such a stretch by day of the year in Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities. Experiencing a streak like this during November is "unprecedented" and would be nearly 2 weeks later than the previous latest stretch ending October 26th. The chart also shows the rapid drop in frequency during the month of September as cooler temperatures become more common with the arrival of fall.

Cedar Rapids

The Quad Cities

Another nice feature of Wednesday's weather was the lack of wind with afternoon speeds running in the 5-15 mph range. 70s in November are often accompanied by blustery conditions and wind gusts of 30 mph or more.

So the question on everybody's mind is how long does this last. As I hinted at above next Tuesday is the period to watch for rain and a turn to colder conditions. Notice the 500mb jet stream and temperature departures for Friday.

Now look at the same features next Wednesday. The trough is coming east and bringing colder air with it. Despite the drop in temperatures, it does not look prolonged and near to above normal readings could return in the 8-14 day periods as the strong eastern ridge quickly rebuilds.

The storm that spins up in the base of the evolving trough Tuesday will bring showers and thunderstorms along with the potential of some needed rains before it brings the cool-down. The EURO has this for rainfall totals Tuesday.

The GFS is in the same ballpark.

Before I sign off, I just wanted to reiterate what a fantastic weekend this is going to be. You will not find a better one a week into November. Here's the NWS forecast for Cedar Rapids which looks good to me. Roll weather...TS

So get out and enjoy what mother nature has in store. You might even think about putting up those Christmas lights while the going is good! Speaking of Christmas, here's a gift idea for the weather enthusiast or hard to buy for person in your family. It's my yet to be released book called Derecho 911, Iowa's Inland Hurricane. It's the authoritative account of the costliest thunderstorm in U.S. history and pre-sales are underway. Get your discounted copy by clicking on the banner below.