CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Clouds will build across the state through Thursday, but that’s about the worst that dissipating Hurricane Francine is expected to have in store.
The clear sky will stay a little longer before clouds move in
Tonight the sky will be mostly to completely clear, which will lead to a steady drop in temperature. By daybreak on Thursday the temperature will finally be between 15 and 16 degrees.
There will be plenty of sunshine again on Thursday, and it should stay that way for most of the day. Later in the afternoon and evening, high clouds will move in from the south, filtering some of the sunshine. The week’s slow warming trend should continue into Thursday, reaching the highest temperatures of the week, most between 30 and 28 degrees.
By Thursday night, more and more clouds will gather, which will probably become somewhat denser overall. Temperatures will therefore only fall to 18 to 20 degrees, but it will remain dry.
Francine sometimes brings a greyer end to the week
The remnants of Hurricane Francine will move northward, roughly along the Mississippi River, between now and the weekend. This system will likely linger near the southeast Missouri/southern Illinois/western Kentucky area, eventually weakening further and generally dissipating. This is expected to limit its impacts after about Saturday.
For us here in Eastern Iowa, Francine will have the biggest impact in the form of persistent cloud cover and a slightly different air atmosphere over the weekend. Temperatures will be limited with less sunshine and likely only reach 25 to 27 degrees during the day. In contrast, nighttime lows will continue to climb to 18 to 20 degrees. This is due to the influx of moisture pushing dew points high enough to bring some mugginess Saturday into Sunday.
If you were hoping for rain, that’s looking pretty unlikely. While we can’t rule it out completely, it doesn’t look very likely this far north. Further south in its path, several inches of rain are possible as far north as the Memphis area, with lesser amounts possible in parts of Missouri and Illinois.
Your first warning: A little more active and a little warmer next week
Starting Sunday, the first part of the work and school week, we will see more and more sunshine in the sky. Temperatures will continue to trend slightly warming as a result, rising from just above 27 degrees on Sunday to above 27 degrees by midweek.
Around the same time frame, our weather pattern could become a bit more active and wetter. At least one storm system will bring us the chance for some showers and storms, although the exact timing is still a bit uncertain. Wednesday and Thursday have the best chances here, but watch for more updates as we get closer to next week.
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