State Climatologist Justin Glisan.
An unusually warm weekend is ahead for Iowans with forecasters calling for high temperatures in the mid-40s to mid-50s. For some cities, that’s 25 degrees above normal.
State climatologist Justin Glisan says it’s a continuation of the weather we had during December, which averaged about 5 degrees warmer than normal statewide. Glisan says it was a wetter month, too.
“Statewide precipitation averaged about 2.09 inches and that’s about three-quarters of an inch above normal,” Glisan says. “Most of that precipitation fell as rainfall not snow. In terms of snowfall itself, we were much below average, around three inches on the ground statewide. Typically, we see about eight inches.”
Some Iowans haven’t even fired up their snow blowers yet, nor have they had to toss one shovelful of snow. Looking ahead, Glisan says it’ll likely remain warmer and wetter for several more days. “Getting into the first full week of January and into the second week, we’re slated to have temperatures well above average, which we don’t typically see in January,” Glisan says. “On the flip side of that, we do have an increased probability of precipitation over that time period.”
Any precipitation that does fall over the upcoming 10 days or so will likely come down as rain, he says, not snow.
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)