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Freeze free April for some

03 May 2010 06:00 AM
The featured map displays the lowest temperature reported by the ASOS/AWOS sensors for the month of April as computed by the IEM. Des Moines failed to report a freezing temperature for the month, which is the first time that has happened since 1941 (also previously happened in 1925). The warm weather has allowed farmers to get a very good jump on the spring planting season.

Voting:
Good: 27
Bad: 11

Tags:   apr10  

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Wet weekend for most

26 Apr 2010 05:07 AM
A large storm system that brought severe weather to the southern plains also brought heavy rainfall to Iowa. The featured precipitation estimates for the past 3 days show some locations pushing 5+ inch totals. Some more rainfall is expected today, but the heaviest totals shouldn't fall in the same location. Another large storm system is expected by the end of the week.

Voting:
Good: 40
Bad: 10

Tags:   apr10  

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Mostly dry April

21 Apr 2010 05:07 AM
Outside of a couple of heavy rainfall events affecting parts of northern Iowa, April has been on the dry side of average. The featured chart displays the daily rainfall reports from the Ames Airport sensor. The past two weeks have been mostly dry and allowed spring field work to progress at a rapid pace. A couple more dry days are expected before rain arrives on Thursday night and sticks around into the weekend.

Voting:
Good: 40
Bad: 5

Tags:   apr10  

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Dissimilar days

13 Apr 2010 05:09 AM
The featured graph compares the air temperature at the Pella AWOS with Iowa Falls since the first of the month. While these locations are only separated by over 50 miles, the displayed numbers highlight a number of days this month were the high temperatures have been very different. The largest of these differences occurred the previous Tuesday thanks to a strong warm front bisecting the state. A similar situation happened on Monday with roughly the same parts of the state experiencing the warm and cool weather. Everyone is expected to experience the warm weather today with highs near 80!

Voting:
Good: 20
Bad: 12

Tags:   apr10  

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Weekend on the cool side

11 May 2009 06:11 AM
The featured graph is of daily high temperature percentiles for Des Moines since April first. This past weekend saw cool temperatures with percentile values near 25, which means that roughly 1/4 of the years prior to this experienced cooler high temperatures. The forecast for this week looks warmer with a few chances of thunderstorms.

Voting:
Good: 15
Bad: 3

Tags:   apr10