Iowa weather: Cold on the way in with another chance for snow this weekend
Our system that brought widespread totals of 2-4" of snow has continued to push out of the state, and with it exiting we're seeing cold air filtering in behind it. Highs will tumble from the low 20s Friday into the low teens by next week.
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We'll stay dry for the next couple days and will likely see some decent sunshine to round out our week. Clouds filter back in Saturday afternoon and evening ahead of our next system that may bring a heaping helping of snow to mainly southern portions of the state starting late Saturday and lasting into Sunday evening. There are still some uncertainties with the exact track of the system and therefore snowfall amounts it may bring. An arctic high pressure moving in from Canada will be pushing down colder, drier air fighting the moisture-laden low pressure center driving in from the southwest. How much that system can overcome the dry air will have a large impact on how far north the heavy snow falls. The heaviest (6"+) looks to fall in northern Missouri, but if that system can fend off the area of high pressure and push further north, it'll take those higher totals into southern Iowa along with it.
Over the next 24-48 hours we'll get a much better idea which situation will win out. What does this mean for the metro? As seems to be typical in situations like this we're right on the line of where that drier air may have its greatest impact, meaning we may see 2-3" of snow... or if the dry air wins out we may not see much out of this system. With that in mind, any northern shift would add more snow into the metro as well.
Regardless of who sees the most snow, we're all going to be seeing a drastic cooldown as the arctic high pressure pushes down into the state. Overnight lows will drop into the single digits by Monday morning and stay there for much of next week. Highs will struggle to make it out of the teens. There are signs we may push out of this cold stretch by next weekend, but be ready to break out the big coats for at least a few days.
Iowa weather forecast
Today: Snow likely between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. 2 to 4 inches of snow expected. High 30F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.
Tonight: A few clouds overnight. Low 12F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. High 20F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Tomorrow Night: Partly cloudy. Low near 10F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.