A few strong storms return later Wednesday ahead of cooler, drier Halloween

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Expect a big temperature change this week, with some widespread showers and storms.

Your first warning: Windy throughout, with most storms continuing into later Wednesday

Clouds will remain fairly frequent into the night, with some fluctuations in the thickness of cloud cover. The wind from the south or south-southwest will also remain very windy. While peak gusts will be slightly lighter, speeds of 20 to 30 mph are expected to continue to be possible overnight. Lows will only slip into the mid 60s, similar to early Tuesday.

Most of the morning on Wednesday will be spent with good cloud cover but little precipitation. There could be an isolated shower or storm this morning as additional moisture moves into the state. However, most of the development will be to our west, where a fairly concentrated line of showers and storms will gather.

This line slowly pushes eastward for the remainder of the day, reaching most of our western counties after about 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. Isolated showers or storms are also possible off the main line. Our northern zones are affected first by this activity as individual cells move northeastward within the overall rain area (which moves eastward as a unit). So if you live north of US Highway 20, expect a potentially wet and stormy end to the afternoon.

The remainder of the TV9 viewing area will be involved through the evening, with areas such as Cedar Rapids and Iowa City receiving heavier rain around 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. For the remainder of the evening, activity continues to push a unit eastward, with the trailing edge of the main wave of rain clearing much of the area by midnight.

Even if the conditions for widespread severe thunderstorms are not present in eastern Iowa tomorrow, the occasional occurrence of strong winds or large hail cannot be completely ruled out. The main timeframe for this would be between around 6pm and midnight, with rain and storms occurring at the leading edge of the main area. If a warning is issued for your area, seek shelter indoors and away from windows until the storm passes.

These storms are also expected to be fairly efficient producers of precipitation thanks to the fairly high humidity levels for this time of year. A swath of at least an inch of rain appears to be forming in at least parts of the viewing area, with the northwest half of it best suited for this. However, everyone should see at least a few of them, probably more than 0.25 inches.

Some additional shower activity is possible for the remainder of Wednesday night, but it is expected to be much more scattered than before. This will also largely come to an end by daybreak Thursday as morning lows trend into the mid 40s to around 50.

Cooler but dry, just in time for Halloween

Even as the storm system dissipates, blustery westerly or northwest winds are still expected, remaining in the 20 to 30 mph range during the day Thursday. There will also be good cloud cover at the start of the day and we cannot completely rule out light cloud cover in some places. Temperatures will reach into the 50s at best by the afternoon.

Skies will gradually clear and winds will become lighter Thursday evening and Thursday night. Temperatures should drop fairly steadily through mid-evening, resulting in trick-or-treating time spent mostly in the 40s. While it's not the coldest Halloween we've ever seen, you'll want to keep this change in mind as you plan on the go.

Friday will start off cool with lows in the upper 20s to lower 30s, and afternoon temperatures will rebound toward the mid 50s. This is actually pretty typical weather for the first day of November, so have fun, fall fans!

Your first warning: It stays cool, but gets pretty wet

The break from our active weather pattern is short-lived, with additional storm systems on the way through the weekend and into the start of the following week. At least a few low pressure systems will affect us here in eastern Iowa, and each brings a threat of rain and storms.

The first will be felt as early as Saturday, with the chance of showers increasing throughout the day. During the night of Saturday and Sunday these will continue to spread, with thunderstorms also possible. Additional bursts of moisture will accompany disruptions in the pattern Monday and Tuesday, providing more opportunity for rain with some embedded thunder.

Severe weather is not particularly likely during this time given temperatures will be in the 50s and 60s, but heavy rainfall is possible. In addition to what falls this week, another 1 to 3 inches of precipitation could occur between Saturday and Tuesday night.

Temperatures will also generally remain near or slightly above normal during this period, with lows in the 40s to low 50s and highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s most days.

It will be dry at the end of next week

After this parade of storms and the upper level low pressure responsible for it, we will take another break. As a result, skies will clear and temperatures will become cooler. Highs in the upper 40s to mid 50s and lows in the 30s are expected to end the next work and school week.

Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.