Very warm weather is washing over Iowa today and many cities may see new records set for high temperatures. Meteorologist Brad Small, at National Weather Service in Johnston, says it won’t feel anything like a typical first week of January in Iowa, when high temps are usually in the upper 20s.
Small says, “We’re looking at highs across Iowa in many locations well into the 50s and even topping the 60-degree mark in some locations from the Ames area south and west.” Small says the mild spell is expected to last for several more days, at least.
“There’s no snow in the forecast and above-normal temperatures are actually expected into early next week,” he says. “To get warming like this, we’ve got a lot of things going for us. First thing is no snow cover, so we can start out with fairly warm ground and then there’s warm temperatures aloft, combined with the dry atmosphere and winds, not too strong today, but all those factors combined help boost our temperatures.”
Des Moines is expecting a high of 61-degrees this afternoon. The normal high is 29. The record high that’s likely to fall is 55, set back in 1880.
By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City