A short update here before many of the weather service offices either change or upgrade their watches and warnings. 1-2″ snows have already fallen with the first storm system across the far northern counties of the state. Light snow was continuing across mainly the northern half of the state, with the heaviest snow currently moving into NW Iowa from South Dakota.

The National Weather Service in Lincoln IL has issued a Blizzard Warning for their counties in central and west central Illinois. Down there, they are expecting snowfall totals of 12-18″ along with strong gusty winds. Back in Iowa, a Winter Storm Warning remains in effect in far SW Iowa. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect in all of the state except the SE and EC counties. A Winter Storm Watch remains in effect for a large portion of the state for Tuesday and Wednesday with the second system (although this is likely to get upgraded in a few hours). If you are going to be travelling during this storm, make sure you have your winter survival kit with you in case you get stuck. If you don’t have to travel Tuesday and Wednesday DON’T!