The month of April has brought very windy and cold weather and at times caused wind advisories, red flag warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings where strong, damaging winds were the main threat. 

Weatherology Meteorologist Michael Karow explains why it’s been incredibly windy in west central Iowa recently.

“The main cause of that has been some strong areas of low pressure which have worked to the Northern Plains dumping copious amounts of snow actually in the western portions of the Dakotas. Folks in our neck of the woods, we’ve been on the warm sector of these storm systems. So they bring some warmer temperatures up some the south, but also on the easterly side of these strong areas of low pressure, we get those gusty east-to-south east winds, picking up to at times 20 to 30 miles per hour sustained (winds) with gusts much higher than that at times.”        

The National Weather Service also issued a freeze warning earlier this week for portions of the Raccoon Valley Radio listening area, which Karow notes is typical for this time of year. He talks about the criteria that’s needed for a freeze warning to be issued.

“Freeze warnings, we issue those usually when we start talking temperatures right around 30 or even into the upper 20s. Frost, you can have a frost advisory with temperatures as mild as the middle to possibly even in the upper 30s.” 

Karow adds the typical time frame for a freeze warning or a frost advisory is late April and early May.