Iowa Weather March 5 Midday - Record Cold

Good afternoon. Iowa. I'm Aaron Jolly. Step outside right now and you're sitting at 50 degrees. Mild. Quiet. Almost boring. Which is exactly what happens before Iowa weather decides to throw a party. In the next 24 hours. This afternoon stays comfortable statewide. Western Iowa climbs to 62 with breezy southeast winds gusting to 25 miles an hour. Central Iowa hits 60. The Quad Cities and eastern areas settle into the mid to upper 50s. Partly sunny skies dominate, though some of that overcast sticks around in spots. Tonight? That's when things get spicy. Patchy fog develops early, especially east of I-29. Then after midnight, thunderstorms roll across the state southwest to northeast. These aren't gentle spring showers. We're talking large hail as the primary threat overnight into Friday morning. Heavy downpours tag along for the ride. Friday is the main event. Temperatures spike into the low 70s across much of Iowa — flirting with record highs. But that warmth comes with strings attached. Strong to severe thunderstorms are possible Friday afternoon into evening. The wild card? How much sun breaks through. Stay overcast and the severe threat drops. Get any clearing and the atmosphere destabilizes fast, bringing hail, damaging winds. And yes, even a tornado threat if conditions line up. The weekend flips the script. Saturday clears out with highs around 51. Sunday turns gorgeous — sunny skies, mid 60s. Monday pushes back into the low 70s under sunshine before our next system arrives Tuesday with more rain. Enjoy the calm today. Keep your weather app handy tonight and especially Friday. This one's got teeth. For the extended outlook, check the latest forecast as confidence improves. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.