The past week brought highly variable temperatures with no precipitation of consequence.

Some very light rain or flurries fell over parts of the southern one-third of Iowa on Tuesday morning. A few sprinkles were also scattered across the north one-quarter of the state on Friday. Maximum rain totals for the week were only 0.02 inch from the Atlantic, Davenport and Muscatine areas. The statewide average precipitation was a trace while normal for the week is 0.42 inch. This has been Iowa’s driest fall month since November 2007.

The reporting week began on Sunday with cold air lingering in eastern Iowa where daytime highs were only in the low thirties while much warmer weather was moving into far western Iowa where highs reached the mid-fifties. Strong southerly winds pushed temperatures into the fifties and sixties statewide on Monday. Tuesday turned much colder and very windy with low temperatures persisting through Wednesday.

Temperatures were well above normal for the remainder of the week, especially on Friday when daily record high temperatures were recorded over most of Iowa. Temperature extremes for the week varied from Wednesday morning lows of 6 degrees at Estherville and Little Sioux to a Friday afternoon high of 74 degrees at Iowa City.

Temperatures for the week as a whole averaged a degree or two above normal over the extreme east to as much as eight degrees above normal over the far west with a statewide average of 4.3 degrees above normal.

Source: Harry Hillaker, State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship

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