Expect warm, dry weather to follow morning rainfall

CEDAR RAPIDS - Warm weather is forecast to return to the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City area after a rainy Wednesday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Mike McClure said morning rainstorms dropped 1.22 inches of precipitation at The Eastern Iowa Airport and .86 inches at the Iowa City Airport as of 7 a.m. Wednesday. McClure said some showers off to the west could bring some drizzle or light precipitation - up to a quarter of an inch in some areas - throughout the rest of the morning, but the area should start drying up by late afternoon.

'And then we're done through the rest of the week,” he said, adding there is a chance of rain forecast for Saturday night.

Temperature-wise, warmer days are ahead for the region. Cedar Rapids has projected highs of 57 degrees for both Wednesday and Thursday and Iowa City should see highs of 60 Wednesday and 57 on Thursday.

On Friday, temperatures are expected to leap up to 75 degrees for both cities. The weekend is to remain warm, with highs of 68 degrees and 70 degrees in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, respectively; and highs in the low 60s for both cities on Sunday.

On Monday - Halloween - temperatures are expected to climb into the low 70s during the day with breezy winds around 15 to 25 mph and a low in the mid 50s Monday night.

Temperatures drop back down to the low 60s again on Tuesday in both communities.

While Friday and Monday are expected to be warmer than average, neither day is likely to produce record temperatures. Cedar Rapids hit 81 degrees on Oct. 28, 1927, and 86 degrees on Halloween in 1950.

For the month, Cedar Rapids is just above the average temperature for October. The city has averaged 49 degrees so far, up slightly from the average of 47.