Taste of Iowa BBQ best!

You might guess by looking at the size of this local weather guy that I love to eat. This weekend I had the opportunity to go to my home area.

Conrad, Iowa is in Grundy County...some of the richest soil in the world sits in that part of Iowa.

Some of the best barbeque in in the world was sitting at the Grundy National Bank in Conrad Saturday.

I got to be one of the judges for the contest.

The Department of Agriculture sent in Harold Hommes and Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchens sent up Laura Marzen...another Grundy County native. Laura grew up in Wellsburg. She is a nutritionist. She kept looking at me like there was too much meat in my mouth. Harold and I go way back. About 20 some years ago we first met at the Iowa State Fair. Great times with the Pork Producers had memories coming back to life.

This food was amazing. Beef....Pork...and Chicken or Turkey were grilled by the contestants. Some were there the night before watching the grills and keeping the heat just perfect.

What a tough gig! Prefect day, great neighbors and friends, and fabulous food. It was heaven, right here in Iowa.

The all Iowa barbecue was designed to use only local producers of beef, pork and poultry.

It was an amazing event.

Thanks to Keely Harken from Grundy National Bank. The music, the farmers market, the herb garden demonstration and the food was just excellent.

Put me down for next year!

WWII Honor Flight Welcome Home

Last night I had the privilege of saying hello and thank you to the WWII vets who had the chance to fly from Des Moines to Arlington and back on the honor flight.

These men were amazing. It was wonderful to hear their stories of the day and the past experience during WWII. Many were on hand to cheer and congratulate these men of war who did so much to keep our country free.

The youngest was 82...the oldest near 100. Each was tired but filled with an amazing experience that will keep them talking and remembering for the rest of their lives.

One daughter of the honorees told me her father was not doing too well a few months ago. When he heard that he would be able to fly to see the grave sites of his fallen comrades and see the changing of the guard at Arlington...he started feeling better. His health improved enough for him to make the trip yesterday. This lady felt the idea of the trip was enough to help her father feel better.

It was an amazing experience. Thanks to the men who have given their all for our country.

Lacona Anyhrous Spill

There was a spill of anhydrous ammonia in Lacona, Iowa today. That is south central Iowa near Liberty Center.

SPOT FORECAST FOR LACONA...WARREN COUNTY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1153 AM CDT THU AUG 19 2010

FORECAST IS BASED ON IGNITION TIME OF 1100 CDT ON AUGUST 19.
IF CONDITIONS BECOME UNREPRESENTATIVE...CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE.

.DISCUSSION...
SUNNY SKIES AND STEADY SOUTH WINDS ARE EXPECTED TODAY. RAIN IS NOT
ANTICIPATED UNTIL POSSIBLY FRIDAY MORNING.

.TODAY...

SKY/WEATHER.........SUNNY (5-15 PERCENT).
MAX TEMPERATURE.....AROUND 88.
MIN HUMIDITY........59 PERCENT.
EYE LEVEL WINDS.....WINDS BECOMING SOUTH 10 TO 12 MPH.
HAINES INDEX........4 OR LOW POTENTIAL FOR LARGE PLUME DOMINATED
FIRE GROWTH.
MIXING HEIGHT.......1800 FT AGL INCREASING TO 3300 FT AGL IN THE
LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON.
MIXING WINDS........SOUTH 6 TO 15 MPH INCREASING TO 16 TO 20 MPH IN
THE AFTERNOON.
SMOKE DISPERSAL.....GOOD (52000 KNOT-FT).

TIME (CDT) 12P 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM 6PM
SKY (%).........9 16 17 18 19 20 21
WEATHER COV.....
WEATHER TYPE....
TEMP............81 84 85 86 87 87 84
RH..............69 63 61 59 59 59 65
EYE LVL WND DIR.S S S S S S S
EYE LVL WND SPD.9 11 12 12 12 12 10
EYE LVL WND GST.15 15 15 15 15 15 15
MIX HGT (KFT)...2.5 2.4 2.7 3.0 3.3 3.0 2.8
MIXNG WIND DIR..S S S S S S S
MIXNG WIND SPD..14 15 16 17 18 20 20
HAINES INDEX....4 4 4 4 4 4 4

.TONIGHT...

SKY/WEATHER.........PARTLY CLOUDY (25-35 PERCENT).
MIN TEMPERATURE.....AROUND 70.
MAX HUMIDITY........84 PERCENT.
EYE LEVEL WINDS.....SOUTH WINDS 6 TO 7 MPH.
HAINES INDEX........5 OR MODERATE POTENTIAL FOR LARGE PLUME
DOMINATED FIRE GROWTH.
MIXING HEIGHT.......2600 FT AGL DECREASING TO 500 FT AGL LATE IN
THE EVENING.
MIXING WINDS........SOUTH 9 TO 18 MPH DECREASING TO AROUND 8 MPH
EARLY IN THE MORNING.
SMOKE DISPERSAL.....FAIR (41000 KNOT-FT).

TIME (CDT) 7 PM 9 PM 11 PM 1 AM 3 AM 5 AM
SKY (%).........22 31 32 33 35 39
WEATHER COV.....
WEATHER TYPE....NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE
TEMP............83 78 76 74 73 72
RH..............67 76 82 84 84 84
EYE LEVEL WIND..S 6 S 5 SE 5 SE 5 S 5 S 5
EYE LEVEL WIND..10 10 10
MIX HGT (FT)....2600 1400 700 300 300 300
MIXNG WIND......S 18 S 13 S 10 S 10 S 9 S 8
HAINES INDEX....4 4 4 4 5 5



The cloud of toxic gas was still hanging over the co-op elevator where the spill happened today. To help with the situation the National Weather Service issued a spot forecast for the area.

It is very important to know the direction of wind and weather conditions in general when there is a major hazardous spill. We watch the wind direction and pass it along to our reporters who are covering dangerous spills like the one this morning in Lacona.

These pictures are from Iowa State Trooper Doug Cutts. Trooper Cutts is the education officer for the Iowa State Patrol and often sends us pictures of severe weather events. I want to make sure these pics give you a mental note to stay out of flooded areas.

Tonight we have new numbers on the amount of flooding in the Des Moines area. Here is an update on the record rainfall of 2010.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
745 PM CDT WED AUG 10 2010

...UPDATE ON RAINFALL RECORDS AT DES MOINES...

THROUGH YESTERDAY..AUGUST 12TH...41.69 INCHES OF RAIN HAD BEEN
RECORDED AT THE DES MOINES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SO FAR THIS YEAR.
ANOTHER 0.02 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN THROUGH 7 PM TODAY...AUGUST
13TH...BRINGING THE CURRENT 2010 TOTAL TO 41.71 INCHES. HERE ARE THE
UPDATED STANDINGS FOR THE WETTEST YEAR ON RECORD THROUGH AUGUST
12TH...THE WETTEST SUMMER /JUNE THROUGH AUGUST/ ON RECORD...AND THE
WETTEST ENTIRE YEAR ON RECORD. RAINFALL RECORDS AT DES MOINES DATE
BACK TO 1878.

WETTEST YEARS FROM JANUARY 1ST THROUGH AUGUST 12TH...

1. 2010 41.69
2. 1993 38.12
3. 2008 36.77
4. 1990 35.04
5. 1881 34.69

WETTEST SUMMERS FROM JUNE 1ST THROUGH AUGUST 31ST...NOTE THAT THE
2010 TOTAL THROUGH 7 PM TODAY IS ALREADY IN 2ND PLACE WITH 18 DAYS
REMAINING IN AUGUST...

1. 1993 29.67
2. 2010 27.30
3. 2008 23.57
4. 1998 21.22
5. 1902 21.04

WETTEST ENTIRE YEARS FROM JANUARY 1ST THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST...NOTE
THAT 2010 IS ALREADY IN 13TH PLACE WITH NEARLY FOUR MONTHS REMAINING
IN THE YEAR...

1. 1881 56.81
2. 1993 55.88
3. 2008 49.42
4. 1882 47.60
5. 1973 45.18
13. 2010 41.71

Crazy Flooding...Crazy Year

The flooding Wednesday morning was amazing. We had some pictures sent to the newsroom that really show the dangers for folks who decide to drive into flooded streets...or in some cases are just caught in the flow of the event.

These shots were taken along Merle Hay Road and Aurora Avenue in Des Moines. This area floods very easily. The lady on the top of the car was rescued by another driver with a four-wheel drive vehicle. Urbandale police said they made about 35 rescues Wednesday morning.

Here are some interesting weather facts for Des Moines...really points out the extreme weather year we have seen in the state.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
522 PM CDT WED AUG 4 2010

...SOME RECENT WEATHER FACTS FOR DES MOINES...

THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF LISTING OF A FEW WEATHER NUGGETS FOR DES MOINES.


WARMEST AVERAGE OVERNIGHT LOWS FOR JUNE AND JULY COMBINED

1. 68.7 1934
2. 68.5 1921
3. 67.2 2010 AND 1931
5. 67.1 1933 AND 1901


DES MOINES WAS TIED FOR 38TH PLACE FOR WARMEST DAYTIME HIGHS
DURING THE JUNE/JULY PERIOD THIS YEAR. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WAS
76.2 DEGREES WHICH IS THE 18TH WARMEST JUNE/JULY PERIOD ON RECORD.

WETTEST JUNE/JULY PERIOD

1. 21.63 2008
2. 21.36 1881
3. 18.85 2010
4. 18.27 1990
5. 17.43 1993

WETTEST JANUARY 1ST - JULY 31ST PERIOD

1. 35.80 2008
2. 34.55 1881
3. 34.23 1993
4. 34.20 1990
5. 33.26 2010

MOST DAYS IN JUNE AND JULY WITH MEASURABLE RAINFALL

1. 35 1993
2. 34 2010 AND 1882
4. 32 1908
5. 30 1902

MOST DAYS IN JUNE AND JULY WITH AT LEAST 0.50" OF RAINFALL

1. 17 2010
2. 15 1993
3. 13 2008 AND 1990
5. 11 SEVERAL YEARS

Wicked Wednesday Weather

* Severe weather moved into western Iowa Tuesday night and by Midnight the storms were right over the metro...again.
* A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH was issued until 5 AM Wednesday.
*A FLASH FLOOD WATCH was also issued until 10 AM Wednesday.

The storms overnight are capable of producing 1 to 3 inches of rain. The soil is saturated from the rain we have received over the last week. Flash flooding is very possible.

Severe storms produced a tornado warning for Adair and Madison Counties late Tuesday night. The tornado was "radar indicated". That means the Doppler radar picked up on the rotation of the tornado...or the inflow and outflow of the wind in the area of Adair and Madison Counties.

At 11:40 PM a trained storm spotter reported one-foot-diameter tree limbs down on the south side of Earlham....that is in Madison County...southwest of Des Moines.

Stay with Channel 13 through the storm. Keep your NOAA weather radio with you overnight to wake you with severe weather warnings.

I will update the blog with new damage reports and severe storm information.

Record Rainfall

This map may make you think it is the temperature range for the day. It is actually a rainfall percentage map for June and July.

All the little 100s over the state are locations that received 100% of the average rainfall for June and July. Some areas received more.

This map from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet indicates that most of the state is at or very close to record rainfall amounts for the year.

Harry Hillaker...Iowa's state climatologist ...indicated that we were already past the rainfall totals that were records in 2008. During August of that year we only had an average of 2 inches of rain for the state. We are already above that in many areas from the last 48 hours of rainfall.

The other two maps show the slight risk for severe weather today and tomorrow. It swipes a path through central Iowa. We will see the chance for another night of lighting and crashing thunder. Another .50" to .75" of rain is expected over the area. We will have some isolated totals of 1" to 2".