The forecast starts quietly with another chilly overnight ahead. Temperatures look to be coldest in the north and northeast by early morning.

A frost advisory has been issued for those parts of Iowa until 9am Monday.

Monday looks dry and cooler, and we’ll see more widespread frost in central Iowa Tuesday morning. Tuesday will also be dry, but then things change. Rain will begin in southern and central Iowa Wednesday during the morning or early afternoon.

Rain could become heavy at times on Thursday as showers and thunderstorms move through.

Severe weather isn’t out of the question late on Thursday, but we’ll need enough heat in the atmosphere to make that possible, and its presence is questionable.

The Weather Prediction Center forecasts rainfall totals this week in excess of 3″ in parts of southern and central Iowa.

Here’s another total rainfall estimate for this week, this one from the ECMWF computer model. The placement of the heavier totals in the forecast will likely fluctuate over the next few days.