Gusty winds have already entered our area this morning along with widespread light to moderate rainfall at times. Winds will continue to increase this morning and into the afternoon as a strengthening area of low pressure moves into Iowa. The steadier rains will come to an end by the afternoon before we see a few scattered thunderstorms develop by this evening.
Typically we’d be a little more concerned with a few severe storms in this setup, however, it appears instability will be quite limited with all of the cloud cover around. Wind fields will remain quite strong and could create a gusty storm or two this evening, but no widespread severe weather is expected. Highs will be unseasonably warm, reaching into the middle 50s. A few upper 50s are possible south of the Quad Cities today.
Rain will gradually end later tonight with windy conditions continuing. There could be some scattered areas of drizzle as temperatures settle into the middle 30s.
Friday will be much colder with a rain and snow mix possible early in the day, otherwise cloudy and windy with highs only in the 30s.
Sunday will be the best day of the upcoming weekend with mostly sunny skies and moderating temperatures into the 40s.
Now that the snowpack is building to our northwest, expect much colder temperatures heading into New Years Day as highs struggle to reach the lower 20s with windy conditions. Enjoy the warmth while it is here!
Meteorologist Andrew Stutzke
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