We’ll have variable temperatures the next 3 days as variable surface winds bring us milder air Sunday and Tuesday and cooler air Monday. We could see patchy frost in some areas Monday and again Tuesday morning.

Rain moves into the forecast Wednesday and lingers into Friday night. Thursday and Friday look breezy as well.

The heaviest rainfall looks to come on Thursday. There is a small chance that we’ll see some severe weather in the Wednesday/Thursday timeframe in Iowa, but uncertainty remains this far out.

The image above shows the Weather Prediction Center’s estimate of rainfall totals through Thursday evening. The image shows that southwest Iowa could see precipitation totals in excess of 3″ by week’s end.

Here’s a look at the 7-day forecast for the Des Moines metro area.