Well, if you’re not talking about a large snow storm or blizzard in Iowa by this point, chances are that you’re talking about Wind Chill Warnings and Advisories as a result of cool Canadian air. That’s exactly the case today as we brace for the beginning of a bitter cold outbreak. Temperatures across the state this morning are sitting at their lows in the single digits and they will not likely move far from these numbers. As the wind picks up and temperatures drop to an extent, wind chills will bottom out in the -20 to -25 range today. A Wind Chill Advisory has been posted for the far northern counties of the state in this case until noon. Cloud cover should help these numbers from getting too bad, at least for early this morning.

Light snow is expected to overspread the state by early evening and fall in a light, fluffy fashion. There won’t be a lot of accumulation with this, however as with all snow and wind events, blowing snow will be possible, reducing visibilities. Use caution if you must travel later today.

The forecast beyond 24 hours looks to be absolutely fantastic. A large arctic area of high pressure will shift into the area from the northwest, causing wind chills to do even more of a nosedive than the temperatures we will see this morning in the north. Wind chill temperatures on Sunday morning are expected to range from the teens below zero south to the low 40s…below zero…north. Doesn’t that just sound wonderful.

After this loathsome of a system clears out and a brief period of ridging, yet another trough will sweep across the area on Tuesday night. Wind chills will likely remain quite cold during this period and Wind Chill Advisories are expected to be re-issued again for the early portion of next week. The trough aforementioned that will be moving through will likely have a widespread snowfall alongside it. The details of this are a bit sketchy at this time and further metrics of this will be refined in later forecasts. The trough should remain around for a little while before ridging returns next weekend, and hopefully, a relief from the cold weather.

Bottom line: this weekend would be a good one to stay home, relax, order a pizza, and watch movies. If you must be outdoors, make sure to take appropriate precautions to protect yourself from the cold.

Stay tuned to the Iowa Weather Network for the latest information!