Forecast Details for Des Moines, IA

Recent Locations: Garland, TX Joliet, IL Des Moines, IA

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 30. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 6 mph after midnight.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 62. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 6 to 16 mph becoming west northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

Friday Night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 28. West northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming northeast after midnight.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 37. Northeast wind 6 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19. North northeast wind 6 to 10 mph.

Sunday: Snow likely, mainly after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 32. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sunday Night: A 50 percent chance of snow, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23.

Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40.

Monday Night: A chance of rain before midnight, then a chance of rain or freezing rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Tuesday: A chance of rain or freezing rain before noon, then a chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of rain. Partly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 45.

Wednesday Night: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 37. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Thursday: A 40 percent chance of rain. Mostly sunny, with a high near 55.

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Current U.S. National Radar--Current

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National Weather Forecast--Current

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National Weather Forecast for Tomorrow

Tomorrow National Weather Forecast and Tomorrow National Weather Map are show below.

North America Water Vapor (Moisture)

This map shows recent moisture content over North America. Bright and colored areas show high moisture (ie, clouds); brown indicates very little moisture present; black indicates no moisture.

Weather Topic: What is Rain?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Rain

Rain Next Topic: Shelf Clouds

Precipitation in the form of water droplets is called rain. Rain generally has a tendency to fall with less intensity over a greater period of time, and when rainfall is more severe it is usually less sustained.

Rain is the most common form of precipitation and happens with greater frequency depending on the season and regional influences. Cities have been shown to have an observable effect on rainfall, due to an effect called the urban heat island. Compared to upwind, monthly rainfall between twenty and forty miles downwind of cities is 30% greater.

Next Topic: Shelf Clouds

Weather Topic: What is Sleet?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Sleet

Sleet Next Topic: Snow

Sleet is a form of precipitation in which small ice pellets are the primary components. These ice pellets are smaller and more translucent than hailstones, and harder than graupel. Sleet is caused by specific atmospheric conditions and therefore typically doesn't last for extended periods of time.

The condition which leads to sleet formation requires a warmer body of air to be wedged in between two sub-freezing bodies of air. When snow falls through a warmer layer of air it melts, and as it falls through the next sub-freezing body of air it freezes again, forming ice pellets known as sleet. In some cases, water droplets don't have time to freeze before reaching the surface and the result is freezing rain.

Next Topic: Snow