Watching late Thursday for a strong to severe storm chance

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Our period of quiet weather has come to an end, for now, with a few storms possible on Thursday.

Your First Alert: Dry night for most, a couple of opportunities for wet weather on Thursday

Temperatures overnight won’t fall quite as far as the last couple, owing to the somewhat more humid nature of the air in eastern Iowa right now. Expect lows to be in the low to mid 60s for most, with a few spots slipping into the upper 50s. Skies will be partly to mostly clear.

Closer to daybreak and for parts of the morning, some isolated to scattered showers or storms may occur in the TV9 viewing area. Many of the latest indications are that the bulk of this activity may stay just to the west of the area, but we do want you to be prepared for the chance. It might not be a bad idea to grab the umbrella as you head out, just in case.

If this develops, it should tend to diminish later in the morning, revealing a decent amount of sunshine and warming temperatures. This warm-up will be aided by a southerly breeze that may be a bit stronger. This breeze also draws in more moisture, with dew points headed for the upper 60s by the afternoon. With highs hitting the mid to upper 80s for most of us, this makes for a warmer and stickier day.

By late afternoon into the evening, a cold front will be pushing toward central Iowa and meeting this warm and humid air mass. With some support at the upper-levels of the atmosphere, scattered storms are likely to develop along this front. This initial development could take place around the Interstate 35 corridor around 5 to 6 o’clock, pushing to the east. This places the viewing area’s storm time frame from about 5:00 p.m. until Midnight, with most activity close to the Mississippi River by around the early morning hours of Friday.

With this round of storms, there is the chance some of them turn strong to severe. The main risk would be damaging wind, with large hail or an isolated tornado not fully ruled out, either. The highest chance for a severe storm will be within a few hours of storm development; as we lose daytime heating, the risk also diminishes. The Storm Prediction Center has included much of the viewing area in a Slight Risk for this event.

Stay weather-aware during this time frame! It’s important to make sure to have ways to receive warnings that can alert you while you sleep. A NOAA Weather Radio is a great tool in this case. Make sure it’s plugged in and turned on, ready to receive warnings, before you head to bed. We also recommend the KCRG-TV9 First Alert Weather App, which can give you customized alerts for your location. Of course, we’ll also provide updates on KCRG.com and KCRG-TV9 as conditions warrant.

If a storm approaches your area, seek shelter indoors. If a warning is issued, get to the lowest floor of your home, away from windows. In the event of a tornado warning, put as many walls between you and the outside as possible, like in an interior closet or bathroom. A basement is best if you have one. Cover your head and neck with pillows or blankets, or a bike helmet if you have one. If you’re in a mobile home, abandon it for more substantial shelter. If caught outdoors, try to get to an indoor shelter. As a last resort, lay flat in a ditch while protecting your head and neck. Don’t seek shelter under bridges or overpasses.

Your First Alert: A break before more wet weather moves in

Any precipitation with this cold front should be gone by the time you wake up on Friday morning, leaving behind another dry day. It doesn’t look like drastically cooler air will arrive in eastern Iowa just yet, though. Highs still reach the mid to upper 80s on Friday, with a decent amount of humidity still hanging around. Skies will again turn mostly sunny, though, and Friday night’s forecast is looking dry for area high school football games.

Saturday into the early portion of next week is when wet weather makes a return. Periods of rain and some thunderstorms will move through, though individual rounds’ timing is still a bit uncertain from a few days away. The wettest stretch of time looks to be on Sunday into Sunday night, potentially even lingering into Monday for some of us. On either end, activity should be a bit more scattered Saturday and again by Tuesday.

With the potential for repeated rounds of rainfall activity, precipitation accumulation could be substantial between all of these chances over the next several days. Amounts could easily exceed an inch in many spots, with those getting multiple rounds of heavier rain and storms receiving around 2 inches or more.

Cooler and drier from middle of next week and beyond

For those who have been seeking a cooldown, this active weather period will bring it to the area. Temperatures will retreat into the low to mid 70s for highs as soon as Sunday. They should stay that way throughout the rest of the following work and school week. Overnight lows also turn cooler and more comfortable, dropping into the upper 40s to mid 50s during that same time.

We also enter another dry stretch, lasting through the remainder of the 9-day forecast after early Tuesday.

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