Iowa Weather 3/6 Morning - Record Cold

Good morning. Iowa. I'm Aaron Jolly. If you stepped outside early, you already know. Over an inch of rain in 24 hours. And we're sitting at 51 degrees in the middle of thunderstorms. The soggy part? Still rolling. Right now, storms are packing small hail up to quarter size. The real threat is heavy rain — visibility drops fast when these cells push through. Most of this clears north by mid-morning, but don't get comfortable. The main event is still hours away. Here's what's building. A Colorado low is tracking northeast, dragging a cold front behind it. By late afternoon, surface-based storms fire up over western Iowa. We've got serious instability — 1000 to 1500 joules per kilogram — plus strong wind shear. Translation? Large hail, damaging winds over 60 miles an hour. And isolated tornadoes are all possible between 5 PM and midnight. The Quad Cities could flirt with record highs near 72 degrees before storms arrive. Central Iowa hits 69. Eastern Iowa tops out at 68. Western Iowa stays cooler at 53 as the front crashes in faster there. Rain totals by Saturday morning could hit 1 to 1.5 inches statewide, with isolated spots seeing 2 or more. Tonight gets tricky. That cold front crashes south. And northwestern Iowa faces a wintry surprise. Freezing rain develops after midnight in Emmet. Palo Alto. And northern Kossuth counties. A tenth of an inch of ice is possible before it flips to snow by Saturday morning. Saturday brings cooler air — highs only reach the upper 40s to low 50s with breezy northwest winds. Sunday flips the script. Sunny, breezy. And warm with highs in the mid 60s. Fire weather concerns may develop given the dry, windy conditions. Next rain chance arrives Tuesday into Tuesday night. Stay weather-aware this evening. See you tomorrow. For the extended outlook, check the latest forecast See you tomorrow.