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Blizzard Update #3; Summary of Weather Alerts in effect; DOT update

| by Henry Luker
Local Storm Reports - 3:00 PM 12/20/12
Local Storm Reports – 3:00 PM 12/20/12
Iowa Peak Wind Gust - 3:00 PM 12/20/12
Iowa Peak Wind Gust – 3:00 PM 12/20/12

BREAKING NEWS: 3 Now dead in 25 car pileup on I-35 Mile Marker 150 crash.

BLIZZARD UPDATE #3

Snow and Blizzard-like conditions are continuing to effect the entire state. The National Weather Service has downgraded many counties in the west portion of Iowa to a Winter Weather Advisory due to those counties not meeting Blizzard Warning criteria. The DOT continues to not recommend  traveling in any portion of the state. Many roads across Iowa are closed because of accidents, and it will remain that way for a while because towing is banned across the state. A few roads have just been closed because of the bad weather conditions (notably I-35 from Clear Lake to Ames, near our office) Snowfall is beginning to really pile up at this time with amounts ranging from nothing/trace in NW Iowa to nearly a foot or so in the Des Moines metro.

The snow will continue to stay on it’s track for the rest of the day. Winter Weather Advisories are supposed to expire at 4PM but will likely be expanded. Blizzard Warnings will expire at midnight to the East to 6:00 PM in the Central. Winds are currently “at their peak” sustaining at 20-30 MPH west to 35-45 MPH east. Many stations have also reported gusts of nearly 60 MPH. With these conditions schools and businesses have canceled school for the day; so there should be no need to travel during this storm.

Please stay safe and hunker down during this situation as it continues to develop! Stay tuned for further updates.

WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES IN EFFECT

A Blizzard Warning has been issued for  Allamakee, Benton, Buchanan, Cedar, Chickasaw, Clayton, Clinton, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fayette, Floyd, Hancock IL, Henderson IL, Henry, Howard, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Mitchell, Winneshiek, Muscatine, Scott, Van Buren, and Washington counties until 12:00 AM Friday.

A Blizzard Warning has been issued for Appanoose, Black Hawk, Bremer, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Clarke, Davis, Decatur, Faribault MN, Franklin, Freeborn MN, Grundy, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Jasper, Lucas, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Martin MN, Monroe, Polk, Poweshiek, Story, Tama, Wapello, Warren, Wayne, Winnebago, Worth, and Wright counties until 6:00 PM.

A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for Adair, Adams, Audubon, Boone, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Crawford, Dallas, Emmet, Greene, Guthrie, Humboldt, Kossuth, Madison, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Ringgold, Sac, Taylor, Union and Webster counties until 4:00 PM.

Winter Storm Warning has been issued for Scotland MO and Clark MO counties until 6:00 PM.

Winter Storm Warning has been issued for Putnam MO and Schuyler MO counties until 3:00 PM.

 

ROAD CONDITIONS

IA 14 in both directions: Road blocked. Between IA 175 and IA 175 (4 miles south of the Grundy Center area). The road is blocked due to a winter storm. Last updated today at 12:27PM CST by IADOT.

IA 17 in both directions: Road blocked. Between IA 141 and IA 210 (1 mile north of the Granger area). The road is blocked because of a disabled vehicle. Last updated today at 1:35PM CST by IADOT.

I-35 southbound: Road blocked. Between Exit 147: County Road D20 and Exit 151: County Roads C70 and R75 (4 miles north of the Williams area). The road is blocked due to an accident. Last updated today at 9:26AM CST by IADOT.

I-35 southbound: Road blocked. At Exit 165: IA 3 (near Coulter). The road is blocked due to an accident. Last updated today at 9:41AM CST by IADOT.

I-35 southbound: Road closed. At Exit 194: US 18; IA 122 (Clear Lake). The road is closed due to a winter storm. Last updated today at 11:35AM CST by IADOT.

I-35 southbound: Road blocked. At Exit 102: IA 210 (near Huxley). The road is blocked due to an accident. Follow the local detour. Last updated today at 11:52AM CST by IADOT.

I-35 northbound: Road blocked. Between Exit 116: County Road E29 and Exit 123: County Road E18 (2 miles north of the Ames area). The road is blocked due to an accident. Last updated today at 12:18PM CST by IADOT.

I-35 northbound: Road closed. At Exit 111: US 30 (near Ames). The road is closed due to a winter storm. Last updated today at 2:19PM CST by IADOT.

IA 44: Road blocked. Between County Road M16 and US 59 (2 miles west of the Harlan area). The road is blocked due to an accident. Comment: Shelby County. Last updated today at 8:22AM CST by IADOT.

IA 57: Road blocked. Between County Road T55 and US 218; IA 27 (near Cedar Falls). The road is blocked because of a jacknifed semi trailer. Last updated today at 11:35AM CST by IADOT.

I-80 in both directions: All lanes blocked. Between Exit 182: IA 146 (near Grinnell) and Exit 191: US 63 (1 mile east of the Grinnell area). All lanes are blocked because of a jacknifed semi trailer. Comment: Poweshiek County. Last updated today at 10:00AM CST by IADOT.

IA 163 westbound: Road blocked. Between IA 117 and IA 14 (near Monroe). The road is blocked due to an accident. Last updated today at 1:22PM CST by IADOT.

IA 175: Road blocked. Between County Road T55 (near Reinbeck) and US 63 (5 miles east of the Reinbeck area). The road is blocked due to an accident. Last updated today at 6:27AM CST by IADOT.

IA 175: Road blocked. Between County Road P29 and County Road P33 (near Gowrie). The road is blocked due to a disabled semi trailer. Last updated today at 9:55AM CST by IADOT.

US 218: Road blocked. Between IA 438 and County Road H28 (3 miles east of the Mount Pleasant area). The road is blocked because of a jacknifed semi trailer. Comment: US 218 North. Last updated today at 12:04PM CST by IADOT.

IA 281: Road blocked. Between the start of IA 281 (Elk Run Heights) and County Roads D20 and V51 (2 miles east of the Raymond area). The road is blocked due to numerous accidents. Comment: Black Hawk County. Last updated today at 2:45PM CST by IADOT.