Near record highs for Sunday, there is a chance of light rain Monday evening

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – It's another warm and windy day to end the weekend, but we'll see some changes later this week.

Remains well above normal for a few more days

The sky will be mostly clear today initially, which will make for another very sunny day overall. At most, a few scattered clouds are expected during the day, with windy conditions contributing to a quick warm-up. High temperatures will be in the upper 70s to lower 80s in the afternoon.

Such temperatures this late in the year are not entirely unprecedented and we will miss the records for this date on the calendar by a few degrees. However, it's worth noting that they are quite rare: only four years since 2000 have Cedar Rapids recorded a reading of 80 or higher in the last third of October (2003, 2004, 2022 and 2023). Only 12 recorded years since 1893 have had more than one in this period, with only two in the last 50 years (1979 and 2022 with two each). We are expected to increase this amount today and tomorrow.

With warm temperatures, relatively low humidity levels and persistent drought, the risk of uncontrolled fires spreading outdoors is higher than usual. It's probably a good idea to avoid outdoor burning, especially in the many counties that currently have burn bans in place. Be especially careful when harvesting or working with other equipment outdoors to avoid a fire, and do not throw cigarette butts on the ground.

Temperatures will fall tonight, but only toward the upper 40s to low 50s, remaining more than 10 degrees above normal. Monday should develop very similarly to Sunday, with another day in the upper 70s to lower 80s for most of us. The wind will be more southerly, but will become breezy as the afternoon progresses. The biggest difference will be a gradual increase in clouds throughout the day, although they won't be significantly dense until late.

Your first warning: A little rain for a lucky few

These clouds are associated with a storm system moving through the region Monday night into Tuesday that will produce some rain to our west on Monday. This will come to us on Monday night, although probably in a weakening phase. What's left of it would arrive later on Monday evening or Tuesday morning and might be lying around for the early morning commute to some locations.

Unfortunately, precipitation amounts here are expected to be quite light, only a few hundredths of an inch for those who see a shower. This will do little to alleviate drought conditions.

Temperatures will be a little cooler on Tuesday, but not by much. Highs are still expected to reach the low to mid 70s for most.

Modest cooldown, but remains warmer than normal

Another cold front moves in Tuesday night into early Wednesday, which will bring cooler weather through the second half of the work and school week. There will be no additional precipitation with this front, but the wind shift behind it will attract a cooler air mass.

Highs will be limited to 60°C from Wednesday to Friday, with lows of 30°C and 40°C. The coldest morning will occur on Thursday, when some frosty conditions look possible.

The cooldown will be short-lived, however, as highs will be closer to 70 again towards the weekend. Overnight lows in the 40s will also return, taking some of the fall chill away.

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