Good Tuesday evening, bloggers,
February will go out with a whimper, while March may come in like a lion.
Actually, February has been a whimper all month, as we are looking at the only February not to record measurable snow since the winter of 1891-1892.
This winter has been a whimper as well, with only three days of measurable snow.
March wants to come in like a lion as we track a strong cold front and weather system Sunday.
Let's go through this.
TONIGHT:
The high and mid-level clouds we have seen all day are originating from east of Hawaii! They are tracking around a big ridge in the Southwest.
A system will track in from the northwest tomorrow night, then we will see an influence from the ridge the rest of the week, which means nice weather.
Lows tonight will be in the 30s with a light breeze.
These clouds did make for a nice sunset.
WEDNESDAY:
It will be a nice day under a partly to mostly cloudy sky as a system tracks into Nebraska. Highs will be in the 50s.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
The system will race southeast, bringing us scattered rain showers with rainfall a trace to 0.10".
1"-3" of snow is possible across Iowa, possibly clipping northeast Missouri.
Here is a weather timeline for tonight and Wednesday.
THURSDAY:
The sun will come out as the little system races away. So it will be a nice day with highs in the low 60s and a light wind.
FRIDAY:
It will be a fantastic Friday with sunshine and highs in the low to mid-70s. There will be a southwest breeze at 15-25 mph.
As we are enjoying 70-degree weather, Arctic air will be entering the northern U.S.
SATURDAY:
The cold front will be down in our area as the Arctic air heads to I-80.
The front will move through during the day, but with sunshine, we should still eke out a decent day with highs between 55° and 65°.
The cold air will get here Saturday night.
SUNDAY (MARCH 1):
This is where we have an interesting weather situation. The cold air will be in place as a weather system tracks in from the west.
If temperatures are below freezing, we could see freezing rain/sleet. If temperatures are above freezing, we will see cold rain.
It does not look like we will see snow as the colder air aloft will stay north.
So, March is trying to come in like a lion. Next week looks active, and there is a chance of rain/freezing rain Monday.
The rest of the week should be warm enough for rain.
Have a great rest of your week.
Stay healthy.
Jeff Penner
