Long stretch of mild winter weather ahead

Technically speaking, we could say an “active” weather pattern continues for us this week, but the bitter cold will be held at bay through at least the next 7-10 days. A couple of storms systems will affect the Midwest this week, bringing a chance of rain, sleet, and a few snowflakes. The first wave passes southeast of us Tuesday with the possibility of some icy travel in east and far northeast Iowa, mainly south of Decorah. We could see a few showers around southeast Minnesota and north Iowa, but it won’t be much, if any.

Another system will pass through Wednesday into Thursday, bringing a higher chance of rain and, possibly, a little sleet and snow in the mix. This looks to be mainly a light rain for most of us, and temperatures will only slightly rise above freezing. There may be some slick roads between Wednesday and Thursday. Precipitation amounts won’t be much with either of these storm systems.

As far as temperatures go, they’re looking fairly uniform and mild for the next week and a half with little variation from day to day. Daytime highs will rise into the mid-30s and overnight lows will drop into the upper 20s to lower 30s. There will be a noticeable lack of sunshine going into the start of February, which is pretty typical for a mid-winter warm stretch.