116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Hard freeze tonight coming tonight in Eastern Iowa
But Eastern Iowa quickly warms for nice weekend
Most Iowans will wake up Saturday to the first hard freeze of the season.
The National Weather Service on Friday issued the overnight freeze warning for all of Iowa as well as for large swaths of Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.
In Eastern Iowa, the early-morning lows are predicted to drop into the upper 20s to lower 30s.
And then, because this is the Midwest, it will go from freezing to a high of 60 Saturday, aided by sunny skies. Sunday is expected to be even warmer, with a high near 70 — ideal for checking out fall leaf color.
The Cedar Rapids area came close to a hard freeze on Sept. 29, when the temperature briefly hit 32 degrees, according to KCRG-TV9. But it wasn’t cold enough long enough to do the damage today’s freeze will leave behind.
A hard freeze kills plants and crops and, though it seems far too early to say this, can damage unprotected outdoor water pipes and sprinkler systems.
Something to look forward to, if you’re so inclined: The first day of winter is Dec. 21.
Frost covers tree branches the morning of Dec. 27, 2010, in Ellis Park in Cedar Rapids. The season’s first hard freeze is predicted for this evening. (The Gazette)
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