IEM Daily Feature
Thursday, 18 July 2019

Saved by MCS

Posted: 18 Jul 2019 05:35 AM

Wednesday was to be the first day of an extended period of hot weather for Iowa, but much of the state was spared by a Mesoscale Convective System (MCS) that dipped further south than expected. The featured map is an analysis of heat index yesterday afternoon based on airport weather stations. A forty degree difference is shown between southwestern and southeastern Iowa. The MCS left rain cooled air and clouds that hindered surface warming. A similar situation is expected today, with another MCS present during the morning hours, but it is expected to be less impactful to Iowa's temperatures.

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