Spot Forecast
Issued by NWS Des Moines, IA
Issued by NWS Des Moines, IA
110
FNUS73 KDMX 241240
FWSDMX
Spot Forecast for Rathbun Dam- Main Embankment...U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
National Weather Service Des Moines IA
640 AM CST Tue Feb 24 2026
Forecast is based on ignition time of 0700 CST on February 24.
If conditions become unrepresentative...contact the National Weather
Service.
An initial observation at ignition and a mid burn observation are required.
Please relay them to the National Weather Service for each prescribed burn.
.DISCUSSION...
A boundary moving across Iowa will bring changing wind direction
from southerly to west/northwest. The wind will be breezy at
times.
.REST OF TODAY...
Sky/weather.........Mostly cloudy (75-85 percent).
Max temperature.....Around 52.
Min humidity........41 percent.
Wind (20 ft)........South winds 8 to 17 mph shifting to the
northwest 12 to 14 mph late in the afternoon.
Mixing height.......2800 ft AGL.
Transport winds.....Southwest 21 to 28 mph shifting to the west 16
to 22 mph in the afternoon.
Smoke dispersal.....Fair (13200 knot-ft) early in the morning
increasing to good (52400 knot-ft) in the
afternoon.
GFDI................8.
TIME (CST) 7AM 8AM 9AM 10A 11A 12P 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM
Sky (%).........85 76 75 86 88 84 85 83 84 84 88
Weather cov.....
Weather type....
Tstm cov........
Temp............27 28 34 38 42 45 49 51 52 51 49
RH..............57 55 47 46 44 43 42 41 41 44 48
20 FT wind dir..S S S S SW SW SW W W W NW
20 FT wind spd..8 14 17 17 17 17 17 17 15 14 12
20 FT wind gust. 18 25 25 25 25 26 25 23 21 20
Mix hgt (kft)...0.9 0.9 1.5 1.7 2.1 2.3 2.3 2.8 2.5 1.6 0.9
Transp wind dir.S S SW SW SW SW W W W NW NW
Transp wind spd.21 22 28 25 26 24 21 22 21 17 16
GFDI............5 7 9 10 10 11 10 10 9 7 5
Smoke Dispersal.16 18 36 36 48 47 41 52 44 24 13
Smoke Cat.......PR PR PR PR FR FR FR FR FR PR PR
.TONIGHT...
Sky/weather.........Mostly cloudy (75-85 percent).
Min temperature.....Around 26.
Max humidity........92 percent.
Wind (20 ft)........Northwest winds 6 to 9 mph shifting to the
north 6 to 7 mph overnight.
Mixing height.......400 ft AGL.
Transport winds.....Northwest 10 to 13 mph shifting to the north 9
to 10 mph overnight.
Smoke dispersal.....Poor (3800 knot-ft).
GFDI................2.
TIME (CST) 6 PM 8 PM 10 PM MIDNGT 2 AM 4 AM
Sky (%).........92 88 86 85 74 73
Weather cov.....
Weather type....NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE
Tstm cov........
Temp............43 38 36 35 32 29
RH..............62 73 82 82 85 88
20 ft wind......NW 9 W 8 W 7 NW 7 N 7 N 7
20 ft wind gust.17 14 13 12 10 13
Mix hgt (ft)....600 500 600 400 500 700
Transport wind..W 13 W 12 NW 12 N 10 N 9 N 10
GFDI............3 2 1 1 1 1
Smoke Dispersal.6 5 6 4 4 6
Smoke Cat.......POOR POOR POOR POOR POOR POOR
.WEDNESDAY...
Sky/weather.........Partly sunny (50-60 percent). Slight chance of
snow early in the afternoon. Slight chance of
rain early in the afternoon, then slight chance
of snow late in the afternoon.
Max temperature.....Around 40.
Min humidity........48 percent.
Wind (20 ft)........North winds around 6 mph shifting to the
northeast 6 to 7 mph late in the afternoon.
Mixing height.......2400 ft AGL.
Transport winds.....North 6 to 10 mph shifting to the northeast
around 10 mph late in the afternoon.
Smoke dispersal.....Poor (5000 knot-ft) early in the morning
increasing to fair (15100 knot-ft) in the
afternoon.
GFDI................2.
TIME (CST) 6 AM 9 AM NOON 3 PM
Sky (%).........44 34 42 67
Weather cov..... S CHC S CHC
Weather type....NONE NONE SNOW SNOW
Tstm cov........
Temp............27 30 37 40
RH..............85 75 54 48
20 FT wind......N 6G12 N 6G10 N 6G12 NE 6G12
Mix hgt (ft)....600 1200 2400 2300
Transport wind..N 9 N 10 N 6 N 7
GFDI............1 1 2 2
Smoke Dispersal.5 11 12 14
Smoke Cat.......POOR POOR POOR POOR
$$
Forecaster...Donavon
Requested by...Scott Frieden
Type of request...PRESCRIBED
.TAG 2603724.0/DMX
.DELDT 02/24/26
.FormatterVersion 2.0.0
.EMAIL scott.a.frieden@usace.army.mil