26 APRIL 2010 EXTENDED FORECAST

26 APRIL 2010 EXTENDED FORECAST

WEATHER HEADLINES FOR THE WEEK:
CLEARING OUT TUES.......
THREAT OF MORE HEAVY RAINS AND SEVERE WEATHER THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, WITH RAIN THRU THE WEEKEND.......
4" SOIL TEMPS ARE RANGING FROM THE LOW 50'S IN EXTREME SE IOWA, TO NEAR 60 IN THE NW.........

JUST A FEW MORE SHOWERS BEFORE CLEARING OFF TUES AND WED....
MORE RAIN EXPECTED BY LATE WEEK - WITH ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL OVER THE WEEKEND....
COOLER NEXT WEEK.....

EXPECT ISOLATED SHOWERS TODAY AS A WEAK SYSTEM MOVES FROM NW IOWA INTO CENTRAL IOWA THRU THE DAY....HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN FOR TUESDAY AND WED TAKING SKIES TO PARTLY CLOUDY AND WARMING US UP ABIT FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.....

THURSDAY: VERY STAGNET AND PERSISTANT WEATHER PATTERN SETTING UP, WITH LITTLE IF ANY DRYING OVER THE NEXT 10 DAYS.....LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPS OVER WESTERN NEBRASKA AND EXTENDS AS FAR SOUTH AS WEST TEXAS. STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL DEVELOP IN ITS WAKE, FORCING GULF OF MEXICO MOISTURE NORTHWARD INTO IOWA BY LATE AFTERNOON/EVENING, SPARKING THUNDERSTORMS WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE STATE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. RAINFALL COULD BE HEAVY LATE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY WITH AN INCH OR MORE OF RAIN LIKELY FROM HWY 63 EAST.....

SATURDAY WILL START OUT PARTLY CLOUDY ONLY TO CLOUD BACK UP AS THE NEXT ROUND OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MOVE IN LATE SATURDAY AND LAST THRU THE WEEKEND........

TODAY 26TH - ISOLATED RAIN SHOWERS ENDING LATE - TEMP 60

TUESDAY AND WED 27TH/28TH - PARTLY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY - TEMP 65

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY 29TH/30TH - BECM WINDY - SHOWERS/THUNDER (POSSIBLY SEVERE) DEVELOPING THURSDAY AFTERNOON WITH HEAVIER RAINFALL (UP TO 1 INCH) OVERNITE INTO MID DAY FRIDAY - THEN ISOLATED SHOWERS/THUNDER REMAINDER OF FRIDAY - TEMP 75/70

SAT THRU MONDAY MAY 1ST-3RD - WINDY - PARTLY CLOUDY BCMG CLOUDY WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BY AFTERNOON SATURDAY AND LASTING THRU MONDAY MORNING - THEN PARTLY COUDY - TEMPS LOW 70'S

TUESDAY THRU THURSDAY 4TH-6TH - THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY THEN ISOLATED RAIN SHOWERS WED AND THURSDAY - COOLER WITH GUSTY NORTH WINDS

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY EARTHWORMS COME TO THE SURFACE AFTER A RAIN? ME EITHER. BUT I GUESS THERE'S SOME DOC'S OUT THERE THAT DID:

Why Do Earthworms Surface After Rain?
Updated: Monday, April 19, 2010 18:49

Earthworms laying on sidewalks or streets after a heavy spring rain has become commonplace, but why do they do this?Researchers hypothesize several reasons why heavy rain storms bring crawlers out of their soil homes.

For years scientists seemed to think the only reason earthworms came to the soil surface after a good rain was to prevent drowning in their water-filled burrows.

"This is not true as earthworms breathe through their skins and actually require moisture in the soil to do so," said Dr. Chris Lowe, Lecturer in Waste and Environmental Management, University of Central Lancashire in Preston, United Kingdom.

Earthworms are unable to drown like a human would, and they can even survive several days fully submerged in water.

Soil experts now think earthworms surface during rain storms for migration purposes.

"It gives them an opportunity to move greater distances across the soil surface than they could do through soil," said Dr. Lowe. "They cannot do this when it is dry because of their moisture requirements."

Certain species of earthworms surface to mate, but only a few of the 4,400 existing species, making it unlikely that mating is a primary reason for widespread surfacing.

Another explanation involves rain drop vibrations on the soil surface sounding similar to predator vibrations, like that of moles. Earthworms often come to the surface to escape moles.

"Rain can set up vibrations on top of the soil like mole vibrations," said Professor Josef Gorres of the University of Vermont's Department of Plant and Soil Science. "Similar to how earthworms move upwards and out of the way when predator vibrations are felt, they could move in a similar way for rain vibrations."

Similarly, humans create vibrations when "fiddling" for bait earthworms.

To coax worms from their burrows, fishermen run a piece of steel or a hand saw across the top of a stake, which causes a rubbing sound to occur as the stake vibrates.

Earthworms are then moved to the surface, much to the fisherman's delight.