Iowa weather: Chance of rain on Thursday and Friday; air quality alert
Wednesday afternoon is mostly sunny after a foggy morning.
Interactive Radar | Weather Alerts
We will remain dry today. However, more rain chances will move in later this week.
Clouds will return Thursday, which will lead to some isolated showers Thursday later afternoon into evening/overnight. These will be mostly light showers that will be fighting some dry air as well. Isolated rain chances will stick around Friday with partly sunny conditions.
The weekend will remain mostly dry with some lingering rain chances Sunday as a weak cold front will pass over. This will drop temperatures again to start the new work week, but should be back into the 80s by Wednesday.
Air quality alert through Thursday morning
Iowa issued a statewide air quality alert through early Thursday, urging residents to limit certain outdoor activities and warning of possible health effects due to the thick smoke.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources warned that air quality in a band from the state’s southwest corner to the northeast could fall into the unhealthy category through Thursday morning. The agency recommended that people — especially those with heart and lung disease — avoid long or intense activities and to take extra breaks during strenuous activity outdoors.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's showed a swath of red for “unhealthy” conditions across parts of eastern Iowa, including Iowa City and Cedar Rapids.
The — AQI — measures how clean or polluted the air is, indicating which health effects might be experienced within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. It is based on ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Particulates are the main issue from the fires.
The index ranges from green, indicating satisfactory air quality that poses little or no risk, to maroon, which is considered hazardous. That level comes with health warnings of which are more likely to affect everyone.
Iowa weather forecast
Today: Mostly sunny. High near 76F. Winds NE at 5 to 15 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low 57F. Winds light and variable.
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. Chance of showers. High 77F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
Tomorrow Night: A few clouds. Low 60F. Winds light and variable.
vlog skycams
Weather watchers can keep an eye on conditions across Iowa by checking this page, which shows aerial views from 20 sites across the state.