Weekend Weather Outlook Looks to Chill Out

Some trick-or-treaters in Iowa -could- be crunching through new-fallen snow this Halloween, though the forecast is still a bit shaky for the weekend.

Meteorologist Kristy Carter, at the National Weather Service, says some Iowa cities set record high temperatures just yesterday in the low 80s, but a big cool-down will likely be arriving on Friday.

“We’ll be looking at high temperatures in the 30s to 40s on Saturday and Sunday,” Carter says. “There are some precipitation chances this weekend as well, which could come in the form of the dreaded snow word.”

She says there’s at least a chance of falling flakes this weekend across much of Iowa’s northern half as a storm front arrives.

“That would be Saturday night into Sunday at this point,” Carter says. “It’d be over northern areas but details are a little bit more uncertain at this point. We don’t have any amounts or anything. It’s just something we’re watching.”

Winter doesn’t officially arrive until December 21st, a little under two months from now, but Carter says snowfall isn’t out of the question in October.

“The normal amounts for roughly this time of year is actually point-one (inches) for say Des Moines,” Carter says, “so it’s certainly not uncommon to see a trace or so, a very light amount of snow this time of year.”

The long-range forecast says the cold weather is expected to stick around into early next week, before the next chance at a warm-up.