Mild weekend continues, rain to start next week

Happy Saturday! Clouds were with us for the better half of today, with breezy southerly winds gusting up to 30 mph at times. Temperatures were able to reach 50F for most of the Weather First area, with Rochester and Preston being outliers.

We’ll have more clouds than anything else through around midnight tonight, with clearing skies later on, allowing temperatures to dip into the mid to upper 30F’s for a majority of the Weather First area.

Sunday will feature more sunshine thanks to sinking air behind a passing cold front. Northern Iowa may see a bit more cirrus cloud cover earlier in the day, but most will have the opportunity to see a least a few hours of sun. Highs will be rather comfortable, in the low to mid 50F’s.

Temperatures drop into the low to mid 30F’s Sunday night under a generally clear sky. Monday will start out sunny, with temperatures climbing into the low 50F’s once again. A potent area of low pressure will be approaching from the southwest, however, resulting in rapidly increasing clouds through the day, and widespread rain during the afternoon. Many locations could see up to 0.25″ of rain by sunset, especially across northern Iowa!

Rain continues Monday night and into early Tuesday morning. When all is said and done many locations may receive over 1″ of rain. No snow given temperatures in the 40F’s and 50F’s! Tuesday rain moves out, with cloudy skies lingering through the day, with highs in the low 50F’s.

Wednesday through next weekend will feature a vastly different weather pattern, dominated by consistent cloud cover and cold temperatures.

Highs will be in the mid 30F’s Wednesday, with a few light rain/snow showers lingering across the area. Cloud cover sticks around through the end of the week and into the following week, with highs remaining in the mid to upper 30F’s. Not exactly the most uplifting, nor ideal forecast, but a fairly typical one for this time of year. Get ready to get out the winter coats, hats and gloves!