Weather Headlines
- NEXT 9 HOURS: Foggy & potentially slick
- SHORT TERM: Briefly clearer skies
- LONG TERM: Active but warm
Latest Forecast
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Dense for continues to slow travel. Take your time as you encounter reduced visibility.
(KCRG)
Visibility are at 1/4 mile or less, making for difficult travel along with temperatures at or below freezing, leading to the potential for some slick spots so do use extra caution if driving in especially foggy areas.
The fog should disperse by mid-to-late morning, leaving behind a partly to mostly sunny sky. Temperatures will warm significantly, with readings in the upper 30s to low 40s north and in the upper 40s to low 50s south. This will be the warmest day of the week, and should be rather pleasant for early January.
Clouds build up again tomorrow night as temperatures slip into the 30s. These signal the incoming storm system that’s on track to bring wet weather back to our forecast. Rain will move into the southern portions of the TV9 viewing area by Thursday morning, overspreading the rest of eastern Iowa by the afternoon. Rain could be at least moderate at times, making for a wet day.
This round of rainfall tapers off on Thursday night. Before it does, there could be a fairly widespread swath of 0.25″ to 0.75″, with a narrow band approaching 1″ where the heaviest rainfall tracks. While not extreme for the warmer times of year, this kind of rainfall amount is fairly rare in January. For example, the average liquid precipitation for Cedar Rapids in January is 0.95″, and we could go right past that if things come together right.
A good chunk of Friday could be dry, though an isolated shower could occur. Temperatures will be a touch cooler, with highs in the upper 30s to low 40s. This cooling process means that when our next weather disturbance arrives, it won’t take as much additional cooling to see precipitation change from rain to snow.
That’s exactly what we’re expecting Friday night into Saturday as temperatures turn colder. This will be aided by northerly winds that will pull down that colder air, thanks to a more southeasterly track of the storm system. The chances for snow are higher then, and some could accumulate.
A major winter storm still appears unlikely, though the chances for snow that sticks have increased at least a bit. A few inches could occur, and we all know that it doesn’t take a ton to cause some disruptions. Factors working against snow accumulating include warm ground and pavement temperatures from recent warm weather, and air temperatures hanging around the upper 20s to low 30s as the snow falls.
We’ll be watching this system closely in the next few days, and any changes to our forecast will be made clearly here on KCRG.com, the KCRG First Alert Weather App, and on KCRG-TV9.
Behind this system, a dose of colder air arrives to wrap up the weekend. Lows in the 10s and highs in the 20s are likely then, which brings back a good chill. Blustery winds would push wind chills lower than that.
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