Photo Courtesy of National Weather Service Des Moines

The Raccoon Valley Radio listening area will go from a blizzard and below zero temperatures last weekend to highs in the 80s today.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Brooke Hagenhoff says the area will see low to mid-80s today. She adds that going from wind chills of minus teens to minus 20s on Monday morning to the 80s is a large temperature swing for this time of year. 

Though Hagenhoff explains that it’s not completely unheard of as there was a 73-degree temperature swing over three days in late January of 2019, from minus 31 to 42 degrees.

“The key with this is while this is exceptional warmth, especially whenever it’s paired with the cold that we had earlier this week, it’s not completely unheard of. As we see most years in the spring, we’ll have these quick back and forths where you’ll have a very cold system that will come through and temperatures can quickly rebound. And temperature swings, while maybe not always this wild, temperature swings that are a little more subdued are fairly common throughout the springtime.”

Hagenhoff details that it’s early in the year to see 80 degrees, as the average high for this time of year is around 50 degrees. 

NWS adds that today’s near-record temperatures will be paired with dry conditions and winds out of the west to southwest around 10-15 miles per hour, with gusts to 20-25 mph. This will create elevated fire weather conditions and burning is not recommended.

She says that the area will see a cool-down with temperatures in the 50s and 60s tomorrow and into the first part of the week. Hagenhoff adds that there is no snow in the forecast through at least next week.