The Windiest Day of The Year!

Get ready for powerful, long duration winds in central Iowa Tuesday! Sustained winds will be above blizzard strength, but not quite tropical storm force at 35-45mph... some gusts between Noon and 4pm will be above 60mph! That is some extraordinary wind strong enough to even cause some minor structural damage! So hunting... might be best spot and stalk. Either that, or seat belt yourself to the tree and take a barf bag because you will be swaying more than a ship in rough waters! Wind always makes the game spooky. Their sensitive hearing is overwhelmed and they are vulnerable. Deer will be hunkering down either in the thick, deep hollows where they can take some refuge from the relentless gusts, or they will be out in the open areas. I have often seen them in a small swale of tall grass, or a fence line with some cedar trees where they have a bit of a wind break and a great view. Field edges late-day should be productive. These winds will be borderline dangerous, but it could be a great time for you to brave a stalk and sneak up on the deer of a lifetime!
Deercast for Tuesday:
Sky:         Rise; Partly Cloudy   Noon; Cloudy            Set; Partly Cloudy
Temp:      Rise; 45-49               Noon; 53-57                Set; 49-54
Wind:      Rise; W 15-25          Noon; WNW 29-39     Set; WNW 27-39
Pressure: Rise; Very Lo, Rising  Noon; Very Lo, Rising  Set; Lo, Rising

The Warm Before The Storm

We have been really warm this month! Central Iowa has seen 90% of October with above normal high temps and only about 1/3 of an inch of rain! Once again the hunting weather problems on Monday will be temperatures and humidity, both of which will be high. So I think deer movement will be more nocturnal. But that's about to change! Strong storms will form in W. IA Monday evening along the leading edge of colder air. This air mass will blast through the area bringing chilly temperatures for a change, and that is sure to ignite some serious deer movement! In addition, the bright moon now Waning(past full) Gibbous (more than half) will be setting in the mid-morning hours. I've usually seen this scenario favor morning sits and deep-woods stands as the most productive. All this will combine with more pre-rutting activity currently being observed to make for a great end to the week and the month of October. Good luck!
Deercast for Monday:
Sky:       Rise; Mainly Cloudy  Noon; Mainly Cloudy Set; Partly Cloudy
Temp:    Rise; 49-53               Noon; 66-70              Set; 71-68
Wind:     Rise; SE 6-12           Noon; SE 12-20         Set; SE 14-22
Pressure:

A Storm is Brewin'

I've almost always observed more movement ahead of a storm, so the deer movement should be getting better, right? Well, not exactly... thanks to one thing- warm temperatures. Friday will start off clear and cool, and the morning should be a good one to hunt. But like we've seen many times this past month, the air will warm way up pushing highs into the 70s. The sky will fill with clouds by the evening, and it will look like a storm's moving in to you and the deer. So, I'll bet evening activity is still good even though it's warm. The problem comes this weekend, when most folks can actually get out and enjoy the woods. A big slug of moisture will swing in and that means rain chances, which can be good. But since the storm is moving up from the south, it will be dragging warm and humid air kicking and screaming up from the Gulf of Mexico (where it has been vacationing for the last 4 weeks) and planting it in Iowa. So despite having clouds and showers, the warm, sticky humidity will accompany this storm, and that might in turn slow activity down for the weekend. But get out there anyways and prove me wrong! A ground blind on Saturday morning would be a smart choice ;-)
Deercast for Friday:
Sky:          Rise; Scattered Clouds Noon; Few Thin     Set; Mostly Cloudy
Temp:       Rise; 38-43                 Noon; 65-69           Set; 66-69
Wind:        Rise; SE 4-7               Noon; S-SE 6-12    Set; SE 5-8
Pressure:   Rise; Steady Hi           Noon; Falling Hi       Set; Falling Hi

Harvest Time

The last several weeks have been above average and very dry. Des Moines checking in with the driest October so far! All of this means the harvest is being brought in very effectively and according to the US Department of Agriculture almost all of the soybeans and 66% of the corn has been harvested! So it's no wonder I've been seeing a lot of new faces in the woods with more deer showing up every day. Just the past few days more small bucks are sparing and checking does. The activity is really ramping up as we edge inside 10 days from November! The moon is pretty bright through most of the night, and over the next several mornings it will be hanging in the sky a bit longer each day. This should really make mornings the better time to hunt. Cool, clear mornings should be great in the deep woods stands but don't forget about the terrain currents when you're hunting those hollows!
Deercast for Thursday:
Sky:         Rise; Mainly Clear      Noon; Clear               Set; Few Thin
Temp:       Rise; 38-42               Noon; 56-59             Set; 58-55
Wind:        Rise; WNW 3-7      Noon; NW 5-10        Set; W 4-6
Pressure: Rise; Hi Rising            Noon; Hi Rising         Set; Hi Steady