An ‘Arctic Front’ is Headed Towards Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin
We have been blessed with an unseasonably warm fall that has seen temps rise as high as 80 degrees over the past few weeks. It's been months since Dubuque and the surrounding Tri-State area has seen measurable rainfall, leading to unusually dry conditions all across the region.
That could be changing sooner rather than later, as Midwest Weather, a trusted and sourced social media weather tracker, is projecting an "arctic front" of cold air to move through the region of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin late next week, coinciding with Halloween (next Thursday).
The extended forecast for Dubuque is looking like, save for today/tonight, dry conditions will continue, per the National Weather Service (NWS). We could see some much-needed rainfall Friday morning, but following that, temperatures will be in the 60s heading into early next week. NWS is even projecting another 80 degree day on Tuesday, October 29th.
As of this writing, the National Weather Service's detailed forecast stops short of Halloween. Midwest Weather revealed via a post on their Facebook page that below-average temperatures could be coming with this "arctic front," with the timing of it being on/around Halloween:
We are still expecting the coldest air of the season behind this arctic front that will move through next Wednesday-Friday. Guidance is coming together on the timing being around Halloween or even a day before. Behind this cold front, below-average temperatures are expected, and reinforcing cold air from continued cold fronts will continue the below-average temperatures into November. There'll be a large system with this bringing thunderstorms in the warm sector (severe weather) and snow on the northwest side if there is enough cold air being forced in. - per Midwest Weather's Facebook post
That would certainly be quite a trick rather than a treat: an unseasonably warm month of October only for Halloween to be cold enough where kids will likely have to wear coats over their costumes. Being a lifelong Midwesterner, I can't tell you how many times a light or even winter coat was part of my annual Halloween getup.
As anyone in the Tri-States will attest, weather is a fluid situation and not an exact science. All one can do is monitor trends and trust their sources of information. Keep posted on the weather via the National Weather Service's website, and check out Midwest Weather's Facebook page here.
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