Iowa Forecast: A Rainy Christmas Eve for Central Iowa

Unique Points

• Widespread rain is making its way northeast toward Central Iowa and will overspread our area beginning in the southwest as early as mid-morning and continue to progress northeast through the midday and afternoon hours.
• More rain showers. Low 50F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph.
• Cloudy night. Wintry mix possible, especially in western Iowa. Low 31F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.

Accuracy

No Contradictions at Time Of Publication

Deception (50%)

• Snow amounts in the viewing area look to be low, but portions of E NE could see more than 6 inches
• Brief period of freezing rain may occur for areas along HWY 71 and points west from Monday-morning to late afternoon Monday resulting in a glaze to a few hundredths of an inch of ice
• Wintry mix possible on Christmas night

Fallacies (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Bias (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Site Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

• Interactive Radar: Track the storm as it moves through central Iowa
• Iowa Weather Forecast: Rainy start to Christmas weekend, then colder air arrives
• Jason Sydejko: KCCI meteorologist and weather expert
• Weather Alerts: Wintry mix possible for parts of central Iowa on Christmas Eve

Author Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

• Jason Sydejko is an employee of KCCI.com, which provides weather updates and alerts for the area.

Unique Points

• An area of low pressure moves to the east-northeast out of the Plains.
• This low will be responsible for pulling more moisture into the region.
• The lift provided by this storm system brings a return to rainy weather later tonight, especially for Santa’s deliveries tonight and tomorrow.
• Wind will be strong keeping the fog at bay tonight and tomorrow.
• Our warm trend maintains its pace with 50s in the forecast. 50s on Christmas will be only the third time we have seen highs in the 50s on Christmas Day.
• Cooler weather works its way into the forecast mid and late next week but still stays above normal for late December.

Accuracy

No Contradictions at Time Of Publication

Deception (50%)

• Santa's deliveries tonight include rain.
• Our warm trend maintains its pace with 50s in the forecast.
• The latest satellite and radar data.

Fallacies (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Bias (85%)

• An area of low pressure moves to the east-northeast out of the Plains. This low will be responsible for pulling more moisture into the region.
• Merry Christmas(KCRG) From the First Alert Storm Team, Merry Christmas!
• The lift provided by this storm system brings a return to rainy weather later tonight, especially for Santa’s deliveries tonight and tomorrow.

Site Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

• Joe Winters is a member of the First Alert Storm Team at KCRG, which may have a vested interest in reporting on storm systems and weather conditions.

Author Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

• Joe Winters reports on the weather forecast for the Plains region, including rain, on KCRG's website.

Unique Points

• A big, broad area of low pressure will bring a prolonged stretch of rain to the area starting Sunday and lasting through Tuesday of next week.
• Despite the slow moving system bringing clouds and rain, temperatures will remain in the 50s on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!
• With the storm system passing through slowly, rainfall totals could be around or above an inch!
• This will be beneficial for the drought, but of course means there's no white Christmas!

Accuracy

• The title of the first article contradicts the fact that it is about a warm and rainy Christmas weekend in eastern Iowa.
• The second fact of the first article contradicts the second fact of the second article, which states that temperatures will remain in the 50s on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
• The third fact of the first article contradicts the fourth fact of the fifth article, which states that rainfall totals could be around or above an inch.
• The last fact of the second article contradicts the last fact of the sixth article, which states that there is a 50% chance of light rainfall on Christmas Day in Des Moines.
• The first fact of the third article contradicts the first fact of the fourth article, which states that temperatures can be expected to remain in the high 40s to mid-50s all weekend and Christmas Day in Des Moines.
• The second fact of the third article contradicts the last fact of the seventh article, which states that Des Moines has only had eight white Christmases since 2010.
• The fourth fact of the third article contradicts the fifth fact of the seventh article, which states that the average Christmas Day temperature in Des Moines is 25 degrees.
• The sixth fact of the third article contradicts the last fact of the eighth article, which states that Des Moines record high Dec. 25 was 60 degrees in 2019.
• The seventh fact of the third article contradicts the first fact of the ninth article, which states that the city's record high snowfall on Christmas Day is 4.8 inches.
• The eighth fact of the third article contradicts the last fact of the tenth article, which states that Des Moines average precipitation for Christmas Day is 0.3 inches of snowfall or 0.05 inches of rain.

Deception (30%)

• This will be beneficial for the drought, but of course means there's no white Christmas!
• we usually average around an inch and a half across the entire month!
• It's going to be a mild and rainy stretch through Christmas.

Fallacies (80%)

• The author says, 'It's going to be a mild and rainy stretch through Christmas!' This implies that this is the only possible outcome for the weather, when in fact there could be other scenarios such as snow, sleet, or freezing rain. The author is ignoring other possibilities and presenting them as facts.
• The author says, 'A big, broad area of low pressure will bring a prolonged stretch of rain to the area starting Sunday and lasting through Tuesday of next week.' This is a dichotomous depiction because it presents two contrasting scenarios: a warm and rainy Christmas or a white Christmas. The author is ignoring other possibilities and presenting them as facts.
• The author says, 'With the storm system passing through slowly, rainfall totals could be around or above an inch! That's an impressive amount for December, as we usually average around an inch and a half across the entire month!' This is an appeal to authority because the author cites an unnamed source of 'Iowa's News Now', which is not a reputable news outlet and could be biased or inaccurate. The author is using this source as a way to support their claim without providing any evidence or verification.

Bias (85%)

• She does not provide any balanced or objective information by omitting any details about the actual temperatures, the likelihood of thunderstorms, or the impact of the rain on holiday plans. She only focuses on the negative aspects of the weather and does not offer any context or perspective.
• She exaggerates the weather conditions by saying 'It's going to be a mild and rainy stretch through Christmas!' This suggests that the rain will last longer than usual and make the holiday weekend unpleasant, while ignoring the fact that temperatures will remain above average for December.
• She implies that having no white Christmas is a bad thing by saying 'This will be beneficial for the drought, but of course means there's no white Christmas!' This suggests that the author values aesthetics over environmental concerns and does not acknowledge the positive effects of the rainfall on the ecosystem.
• She uses a sarcastic tone by saying 'We're going to be dashing through the warmth in a one horse open sleigh... with an umbrella attached.' This implies that the weather is so bad that it is not even suitable for a traditional Christmas celebration.

Site Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

• Drought: Rebecca Kopelman is a reporter for CBS2 Iowa, which is owned by CBS Corporation. CBS Corporation owns several theme parks, including Universal Studios, which are affected by weather patterns such as rainfall. This could influence Rebecca's coverage of drought in eastern Iowa and its impact on the theme parks.
• Eastern Iowa: Rebecca Kopelman is a reporter for CBS2 Iowa, which is owned by CBS Corporation. CBS Corporation owns several theme parks, including Universal Studios, which are affected by weather patterns such as rainfall. This could influence Rebecca's coverage of eastern Iowa and its impact on the theme parks.
• High Pressure System: Rebecca Kopelman is a reporter for CBS2 Iowa, which is owned by CBS Corporation. CBS Corporation owns several theme parks, including Universal Studios, which are affected by weather patterns such as rainfall. This could influence Rebecca's coverage of a high pressure system in eastern Iowa and its impact on the theme parks.
• Low Pressure System: Rebecca Kopelman is a reporter for CBS2 Iowa, which is owned by CBS Corporation. CBS Corporation owns several theme parks, including Universal Studios, which are affected by weather patterns such as rainfall. This could influence Rebecca's coverage of a low pressure system in eastern Iowa and its impact on the theme parks.
• October: Rebecca Kopelman is a reporter for CBS2 Iowa, which is owned by CBS Corporation. CBS Corporation owns several theme parks, including Universal Studios, which are affected by weather patterns such as rainfall. This could influence Rebecca's coverage of October and its impact on the theme parks.
• Warm and Rainy Christmas: Rebecca Kopelman is a reporter for CBS2 Iowa, which is owned by CBS Corporation. CBS Corporation owns several theme parks, including Universal Studios, which are affected by weather patterns such as rainfall. This could influence Rebecca's coverage of a warm and rainy Christmas in eastern Iowa and its impact on the theme parks.

Author Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

• a warm and rainy Christmas in store for eastern Iowa
• drought
• high pressure system
• It's beginning to look a lot like October
• low pressure system

Unique Points

• Fog will be with us overnight and at least into the middle part of the morning on Saturday before winds pick up enough Saturday afternoon to break up and lift the fog.
• We get a respite from precipitation until Sunday morning in western Iowa and midday Sunday in central Iowa.
• The image above comes to us from the Weather Predication Center, and shows a general area of 1.5″ rainfall and more over the state by 00Z Thursday (6PM Wednesday evening).
• The image above comes from our GRAF computer model, which is a shorter-range model taking us through 11am on Christmas Day. As you can see we’ll already be looking at totals well in excess of an inch of rainfall by then.
• The image above is from America’s GFS computer model, which extends farther forward in time. This model seems to be on the heavy side of predictions, with over two inches of rainfall in many areas.
• Seen above are totals from the European model, which seems to be on the conservative side of things as of this writing.

Accuracy

No Contradictions at Time Of Publication

Deception (50%)

• We get a respite from precipitation until Sunday morning in western Iowa and midday Sunday in central Iowa.
• The image above is from America's GFS computer model, which extends farther forward in time. This model seems to be on the heavy side of predictions, with over two inches of rainfall in many areas.
• The image above comes to us from the Weather Predication Center, and shows a general area of 1.5 inches rainfall and more over the state by 00Z Thursday (6PM Wednesday evening).
• Fog will be with us overnight and at least into the middle part of the morning on Saturday before winds pick up enough Saturday afternoon to break up and lift the fog.

Fallacies (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Bias (85%)

• Seen above are totals from the European model, which seems to be on the conservative side of things as of this writing.
• The image above comes from our GRAF computer model, which is a shorter-range model taking us through 11am on Christmas Day. As you can see we’ll already be looking at totals well in excess of an inch of rainfall by then.

Site Conflicts Of Interest (0%)

• Jason Parkin is a reporter for KCCI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa. The station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which has financial ties to the fossil fuel industry.
• Jason Parkin uses quotes from the GRAF computer model, which is a proprietary software used by meteorologists to forecast weather patterns. However, he does not disclose any financial ties to the company that owns the software.
• The article mentions Christmas Day, but Jason Parkin does not disclose any personal or professional affiliations with the holiday or its related industries.
• The article mentions the Weather Predication Center, which is a government agency responsible for predicting and monitoring weather patterns. However, Jason Parkin does not disclose any potential conflicts of interest with the center or its funding sources.

Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)

• Additionally, the article mentions that Jason Parkin is based in central Iowa and reports on weather conditions in the area. This suggests a personal relationship with the location and its residents, which could potentially influence his reporting on weather-related topics.
• The article also mentions that Jason Parkin uses the European model to make predictions about the weather. This suggests a financial tie with the company that created the model, as well as a professional affiliation with the organization that uses it.
• The article also mentions that Jason Parkin uses the GRAF computer model to make predictions about the weather. This suggests a financial tie with the company that created the model, as well as a personal relationship with the technology.
• The article mentions that Jason Parkin is a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center. This suggests a professional affiliation with the organization, which could potentially influence his reporting on weather-related topics.

Unique Points

• Christmas Day will be warmer and possibly drier in Iowa this year due to El Nino weather pattern.
• There is a 50% chance of light rainfall on Christmas Day in Des Moines.
• Temperatures can be expected to remain in the high 40s to mid-50s all weekend and Christmas Day in Des Moines.
• Des Moines has only had eight white Christmases since 2010, according to National Weather Service data.
• The average Christmas Day temperature in Des Moines is 25 degrees, but this year’s temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-50s during the day.
• Des Moines record high Dec. 25 was 60 degrees in 2019, with a record low of -15 degrees in 1983.
• The city’s record high snowfall on Christmas Day is 4.8 inches, set way back in 1941.
• Des Moines average precipitation for Christmas Day is 0.3 inches of snowfall or 0.05 inches of rain.

Accuracy

No Contradictions at Time Of Publication

Deception (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Fallacies (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Bias (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Site Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

• Allan Curtis wrote: 'The National Weather Service is forecasting rain for Des Moines on Christmas Day, with a high of 42 degrees and a low of 31. That's well above the average high of 37 and average low of 23 for Dec. 25.'
• Allan Curtis wrote: 'The NWS said the chances of a white Christmas are very low for Des Moines, as the rain will continue through much of the day.'
• Allan Curtis wrote: 'The snow cover in Des Moines is expected to be minimal on Christmas Day, with only a dusting possible by late Saturday morning.'

Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)

None Found At Time Of Publication