Forecast Details for Salem, IA

Recent Locations: Danbury, WI Bly, OR Salem, IA

Today: Showers before 4pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 4pm and 5pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Temperature falling to around 45 by 8am. East wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Tonight: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Temperature rising to around 54 by 5am. East wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.

Thursday: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 72. Breezy, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Thursday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm, then a chance of showers between 10pm and 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 45. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming northwest 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 76. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Friday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 1am, then showers likely. Low around 42. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 53.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 32.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 61.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55.

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National Weather Forecast for Tomorrow

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North America Water Vapor (Moisture)

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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