Pacific Storm Track To Return End Of Month, Colder For Iowa

Aside from strong winds and snow showers that we saw much of last week and this past weekend, the month hasn’t been very active. Does this change by December and what does Thanksgiving look like? Read on for the full details…

During the month of November we have seen a few storm systems that did produce decent rain/snow accumulation but if we look at percent of normal from the last 60 days, it’s on the lower scale. Precipitation is only 20-40 percent of the normal in northwest Iowa which is obviously the hardest hit areas on the current drought monitor. Central and eastern Iowa have had some changes made from previous storm systems but even so we are only talking 50-75 percent of the normal which is too dry. So before we dive deep into this, I want to touch on the Thanksgiving forecast since many will be traveling. The forecast as a whole is nothing to alarming. A storm system will be passing by Thursday through Friday. This can bring some light rain to central and eastern Iowa Thanksgiving day with the highest probability in the southeast part of the state. High temperatures will range from the upper 30s/lower 40s in northern Iowa to 40s/lower 50s in southern Iowa so aside from the rain, not a bad forecast.

After the holiday, we will return to a pacific storm track by the end of the month which will open the door for storm systems to track through the plains. This will include more winter storms in the cards for the northern plains between end month and the first half of December. Meanwhile, Iowa will be in the hit or miss zone (as I like to call it). In other words, we will get a system now and again but a snowy pattern in December…the chances are lower. On the other hand, arctic highs look to swing down out of Canada next month which will likely aid in cold blasts. The more impactful wave of cold air can come the first half of December.

The first system with this pattern will be the following week between Nov. 29th and Dec. 3rd.  I don’t know much about it right now but it’s trending toward what I mentioned above with the northern plains being the primary target for winter storms. Now, keep in mind that if another winter storm takes shape in the northern plains, that means Iowa will still have the chance to see precipitation from these events. I will be watching these systems and once I have sampled them, updates will be released.

Stay tuned to Iowa Storm Center.com for updates.