Winter looks to make its return to at least part of the state this evening and on through the day on Friday. Rain or in some locations a rain/snow mix is expected to start later this afternoon with  those area seeing a mix switching to all snow overnight. Northwest Iowa will see the heaviest totals with around 6-12″ expected although there may be some areas that see even higher amounts. Winds will also increase overnight into Friday with gusts to 40 MPH possible resulting in blizzard conditions. The National Weather Service has issued a Blizzard Warning in effect at 6 PM tonight running through 6 PM Friday for northwest Iowa and until midnight Friday night for north central Iowa. Blizzard Warnings are also posted for adjacent portions of southern Minnesota, southeast South Dakota, and extreme northeast Nebraska. A Winter Storm Warning has also been issued for far west central Iowa into eastern Nebraska starting at 10 PM this evening until midnight Friday night. Northeast Iowa is currently under a Winter Storm Watch, again with a rain/snow mix expected there switching to all snow overnight. Conditions could continue to change so stay tuned for further updates.

The rain & snow should hopefully help to alleviate the dry conditions that have recently led to a large number of grass fires across the state. Officials in at least one Iowa county have requested the State Fire Marshal issue a burning ban for their area.