Forecast Details for Alta Vista, IA

Recent Locations: Squires, MO Pascagoula, MS Alta Vista, IA

Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. North wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Wednesday: Showers likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Areas of fog before 9am. High near 68. Northeast wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Wednesday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before midnight, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between midnight and 4am, then showers likely after 4am. Low around 50. Northeast wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 7am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 72. Northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. South wind 8 to 10 mph.

Friday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 77. Breezy, with a southeast wind 13 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Friday Night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. Breezy, with a south wind around 21 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Saturday: A chance of rain showers before 10am, then a chance of rain and snow showers between 10am and 4pm, then a chance of snow showers after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 45. Breezy, with a northwest wind 21 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. Blustery, with a northwest wind 13 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 49. Breezy, with a northwest wind 13 to 16 mph.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph becoming east after midnight.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 58. Breezy, with a south wind 9 to 16 mph.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. Southeast wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 66. Breezy, with a south wind 14 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

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Weather Topic: What are Shelf Clouds?

Home - Education - Cloud Types - Shelf Clouds

Shelf Clouds Next Topic: Sleet

A shelf cloud is similar to a wall cloud, but forms at the front of a storm cloud, instead of at the rear, where wall clouds form.

A shelf cloud is caused by a series of events set into motion by the advancing storm; first, cool air settles along the ground where precipitation has just fallen. As the cool air is brought in, the warmer air is displaced, and rises above it, because it is less dense. When the warmer air reaches the bottom of the storm cloud, it begins to cool again, and the resulting condensation is a visible shelf cloud.

Next Topic: Sleet

Weather Topic: What is Snow?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Snow

Snow Next Topic: Stratocumulus Clouds

Snow is precipitation taking the form of ice crystals. Each ice crystal, or snowflake, has unique characteristics, but all of them grow in a hexagonal structure. Snowfall can last for sustained periods of time and result in significant buildup of snow on the ground.

On the earth's surface, snow starts out light and powdery, but as it begins to melt it tends to become more granular, producing small bits of ice which have the consistency of sand. After several cycles of melting and freezing, snow can become very dense and ice-like, commonly known as snow pack.

Next Topic: Stratocumulus Clouds