Uncategorized

OPERATION SNOWSTORM: Classic Iowa Blizzard On the Way

| by Henry Luker

WINTER 1252014

FORECAST 1252014

Welcome to, well, Iowa.

January always seems to have heavy snow that adds on to the snow depth. Well, Iowa is continuing to see the same trend – little bits and spurts of snow at least a couple times a week. Good news and bad news, good news is that it will likely help the drought situation and keep water levels high, bad news is that you have to shovel or plow snow. Nonetheless, light to moderate snow is expected to begin overnight across northeast Iowa and continue into tomorrow morning. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory overnight for this area. Two to three inches is expected with this system. The heavier band of snow is expected to die down by morning, however light snow will remain throughout the day. 

Later in the afternoon, another very strong arctic cold front will move across the area, packing the punch with sustained northwesterly winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 50 mph. This has warranted the NWS to issue a variety of watches for the state, including:

  • BLIZZARD WARNING for north central Iowa
  • WINTER STORM WARNING for eastern Iowa (less severe winds)
  • HIGH WIND WATCHES/WARNINGS and WIND ADVISORIES for northwestern through central Iowa Iowa (less snow forecasts)

While new snow in the afternoon will be fairly light, an additional inch of snow bringing fresh snow totals to 2-4″ across the warned area will create blowing snow and blizzard conditions across much of the area with visibilities down to nearly a quarter of a mile. Travel will be very hazardous on Sunday and you should only travel if absolutely necessary.

Another hazard expected Sunday night and into Monday is turning into a common occurrence across Iowa. Wind chill values on Sunday night are expected to drop to 20 to 40 below, and even lower with wind gusts. Wind Chill Watches are in effect in northeastern Iowa and wind chill advisories are in effect across southeastern Iowa. Make sure to stay tuned to school closings on TV and radio for the latest information regarding school Monday.

Stay tuned to the Iowa Weather Network for the latest updates on this system and potential live coverage.