textproduct: Des Moines

KEY MESSAGES

- Cooler and dry today and Saturday.

- Thunderstorms chances by Sunday night and Monday. Strong to severe storms are again possible.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/

Issued at 317 AM CDT Fri Apr 24 2026

A cold front that passed across Iowa Thursday evening is now east of the state. Much drier air is arriving from west to east as high pressure ridging arrives. Today will be cooler but with mostly sunny skies and diminishing wind through the day, it will be a pleasant afternoon. The ridge become more diffuse on Saturday with weak high pressure forming over the cold Great Lakes water. This will create a dry low level easterly flow into Iowa on Saturday. The mid to upper level flow will become more west/southwest with some Pacific moisture overtopping the dry air below. The take away here is there may be broken/overcast mid to high level cloudiness over parts of Iowa on Saturday that may hinder high temperatures.

LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/

Issued at 317 AM CDT Fri Apr 24 2026

Lee side cyclogenesis will commence over southeast Colorado on Sunday as a a strong short wave ejects out the of the southwest CONUS. This low pressure system will move into Kansas by late Sunday with an inverted trough extending north into the mid-Missouri River valley. Southerly flow will develop east of the trough and will allow for moisture to stream northward from the Gulf. This will result in several waves of theta-e advection moving across Iowa by Sunday evening and Sunday night as a 40 kt low level jet develops through the region. Mid-level lapse rates will increase to near 7.5 C/km that will promote elevated instability. A few strong storms may occur with large hail the primary threat. The surface low pressure will lift north/northeast along the inverted trough axis on Monday. Spatial and temporal differences remain on the exact track and strength of the upper level short wave and if it will be a closed system or an open wave. This will all impact the surface low pressure along with the potential for severe weather over Iowa Monday. Severe weather is likely somewhere across the region but need to resolve the above details before adding more resolution to the threat. High pressure will arrive Tuesday and will persist for much of next week with little sensible weather anticipated.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 621 AM CDT Fri Apr 24 2026

VFR conditions are setting in across the state and low CIGs are clearing out. IFR, MVFR, and at times LIFR CIGs may linger for another hour or two at KOTM, but should clear quickly afterwards. Winds today will generally be breezy from the NNW.

DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.