Iowa, Be Prepared For Extremely Severe Weather This Weekend

To kick off St. Patrick's Day weekend in Iowa, Mother Nature will take charge and give us some severe storms before the celebrations begin. Tornadoes, hail, strong winds, and dropping temperatures are all factors in the next 24 hours as we prepare for the first severe storms of the season.

We could also set a record high on Friday heading into the St. Patrick's Day weekend. It's going to be crazy but it's a good time to get severe weather ready.

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To kick off St. Patrick's Day weekend, we'll see strong storms move into the area starting around 6 p.m. in counties to the south and southwest of the Quad Cities metro, according to KWQC. That's also where the strongest part of the storm will be as a level 4 risk has been giving for those from Burlington and Keokuk all the way into the Quad Cities metro.

Although the storm will impact the southern portion of our area first, the severe weather threat will continue until midnight. The storm is expected to reach the Quad Cities metro between 8 pm and 10 pm with later arrival times as you look north, according to the National Weather Service.

The threat with this line of storms the evening and tonight is nothing to mess around with.

Damaging winds are the primary threat with wind gusts ranging from 60-80+ mph. That could cause some tornadoes to spin up and ping pong-sized hail being a threat. You'll want to make sure anything that can blow away from your yard is tied down or put away.

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With the high being forecasted at 80 degrees today, if we get there, it will set a daily record. Plus, this will be the second earliest day on record that we have seen highs get to 80.

Although the severe weather will impact us big time, things should calm down the rest of the St. Patrick's Day weekend.

Saturday, a slight chance for some sprinkles in the morning with winds being gusty in the morning and calming down as the day goes on. Expect highs in the mid-50s on Saturday. Sunny skies and highs in the mid-40s on Sunday but on St. Patrick's Day Monday, we'll see highs back in the mid-60s with sunny skies to kick off spring break week.