KCRG TV9 First Alert Forecast For Dubuque and the Tri-States
KCRG TV9 FIRST ALERT FORECAST FOR SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2019
TODAY: PARTLY SUNNY, HIGH AROUND 80. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.
TONIGHT: MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. LOW IN THE UPPER 60’S.
TOMORROW: MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH IN THE LOWER 80’S. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.
EXTENDED OUTLOOK MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY:
SUNNY MONDAY, HIGHS IN THE MID 80’S. MOSTLY CLOUDY TUESDAY, WITH A CHANCE OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS. SUNNY WEDNESDAY, HIGH IN THE UPPER 70’S.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER STAGE AT DUBUQUE: 10.1-FEET & FALLING
KCRG Weather Blog
This week’s rain helped improve the drought
Last week’s Drought Monitor showed drought developing across parts of Iowa. This week’s Drought Monitor, which includes weather data through 7 a.m. Tuesday, shows improvement where the heaviest rain fell both Sunday morning and early Tuesday. One moderate drought area, roughly between Highway 30 and Interstate 80 west of the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City areas, is now completely gone. Moderate drought is still noted in Linn County toward the east, then south to the Quad Cities. It also wraps back toward Mount Pleasant. Abnormally dry conditions, which are not considered drought, continue for many areas generally south of Highway 20. Again, some of the rainfall from Tuesday’s storms is not included in this week’s update because it fell after the cutoff time. That would especially be the case in far eastern and southern Iowa.
Tuesday’s storms brought a big helping of rain to some places
A line of storms brought widespread rain to eastern Iowa, although far northern and far southern Iowa had less compared to others. Here are observations from around the area: Keystone: 3.72” Iowa Falls: 3.68” Clutier: 3.45” Williamsburg: 3.10” Hills: 3.04” Belle Plaine: 3.00” Oxford: 2.39” Traer: 2.32” Dike: 2.25” Cascade: 2.19" Dysart: 1.97” Iowa Falls (airport): 1.90” Tiffin (Clear Creek Amana HS): 1.89” Iowa City (airport): 1.87” Waterloo (airport): 1.80” Cedar Rapids (airport): 1.77” Marengo: 1.76” Iowa City (Regina HS): 1.70” Hartford: 1.66” Cedar Rapids (Kennedy HS): 1.65” Cedar Falls (Cedar Falls HS): 1.64” Cedar Rapids (west side): 1.52” North Liberty: 1.41” Solon (Solon MS): 1.41” Cedar Rapids (north side): 1.34” Marshalltown (airport): 1.30” Coralville: 1.20” Cedar Rapids (Washington HS): 1.17” Cedar Rapids (Xavier HS): 1.17” Dubuque (west side): 1.05” Marion (Marion HS): 1.04” Tipton: 1.03” West Branch: 0.95” Solon (Lake Macbride): 0.94” Cedar Rapids (Kennedy HS): 0.89” Clinton (airport): 0.84” Marion (Linn-Mar HS): 0.83” Ottumwa (airport): 0.80” Reinbeck: 0.79” Vinton (Vinton-Shellburg HS): 0.77” Columbus Junction: 0.74” Conesville: 0.68” Dubuque (Hempstead HS): 0.67” Sigourney (Sigourney Jr-Sr HS): 0.65” Dubuque (airport): 0.59” Waterloo (Expo HS): 0.59” Waterloo (East HS): 0.58” Fairfield (airport): 0.55” Central City (Scout Reservation): 0.53” Dubuque (Senior HS): 0.47” Washington: 0.46” Olin: 0.45” Urbana: 0.45” Anamosa: 0.44” Sigourney: 0.44” Dyersville (Beckman HS): 0.42” Wyoming (Midland HS): 0.42” Mount Pleasant (airport): 0.39” Manchester (West Delaware HS): 0.35” Independence: 0.32” Vinton (airport): 0.30” Hazleton: 0.27” Waverly: 0.27” Garber: 0.23” Tripoli: 0.22” Littleport: 0.20” Elkader: 0.12” Oskaloosa (airport): 0.12” Charles City (airport): 0.11”
Iowa recorded its 38th tornado of the year on Sunday
A brief tornado spun up in Clinton County near Grand Mound early Sunday morning. A National Weather Service crew rated it an EF-0, the lowest ranking on the tornado damage scale. This was the 38th tornado of the year in Iowa, which is a little under the average through mid-August. The average for a whole year is 46, although the actual number is quite changeable. Recently, 2018 had 69, 2017 had 55, and 2016 had 43. The fewest since 1980 was 16 in 2012 and the most was 120 in 2004. The map shows the location of each recorded tornado this in 2019. Blue tornadoes were ones rated EF-0, green are EF-1, yellow are EF-2, and orange is EF-3. The two gray ones in Scott County are EF-U, for “unknown,” because meteorologists could not find any damage to give them a rating. So far this year, 25 of the tornadoes have been EF-0. Seven were rated EF-1, three were EF-2, and one was EF-3. Two were rated EF-U. The second Iowa tornado of the year, a nighttime EF-2 near Adair in western Iowa on May 22, killed one person and injured another. The other tornado death was on May 29 near Montezuma from an EF-1 tornado. None of the other 36 tornadoes caused any injuries or deaths. While most of Iowa’s tornadoes happen in April through July, an average of about 10% of them occur between mid-August and the end of the year. Fall can still offer up severe weather.
Drought conditions continue across Eastern Iowa
Drought conditions continue to plague Eastern Iowa. With the latest update this past week, areas are now under the “Moderate Drought” stage, where most of Eastern Iowa is abnormally dry. This did include Monday night’s rain. Over the past month areas in Eastern Iowa are anywhere between 0.5-2.5” below normal for rainfall. We do have some hope for rain Sunday morning, where areas could see the potential of 1-2”, but that is only if heavy rain happens. It is possible, but not a guarantee on how much rain some will get. After Sunday, rain chances stay slim in the forecast, so, unfortunately, no relief in sight for the moment. We will continue to monitor drought conditions and will have another update this upcoming Thursday.
Great Iowa State Fair weather so far
This is the final weekend of the Iowa State Fair, and overall, the weather has been fabulous throughout. With only 0.37” of rainfall as of Friday, the weather has been pretty dry with a decent amount of sunshine each day, too. That total is 1.20” below a typical fair. Granted, we have to get through this weekend’s rain chance, which will probably add some to that. As for temperature, you really couldn’t ask for better during this stretch. The average high has been around 84 degrees, with the warmest day so far at 89.