The National Weather Service in Omaha has issued a Winter Storm Watch which goes into effect at 7pm Saturday and expires at 6pm Sunday, for the following counties, Monona, Harrison, Shelby, Pottawattamie and Mills. The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls has issued a Winter Storm Watch which goes into effect at 10pm Saturday night and expires at 4pm Sunday afternoon for the following counties, Lyon, Osecola, Dickinson, Sioux, O’Brien, Clay, Plymouth, Cherokee, Buena Vista, Woodbury and Ida. The National Weather Service in Des Moines has issued a Winter Storm Watch which goes into effect at 7pm Saturday night and expires Sunday evening at 7pm for the following counties, Audubon, Boone, Bremer, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cerro Gordo, Crawford, Emmet, Franklin, Greene, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Humboldt, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Sac, Webster, Winnebago, Worth and Wright. Finally the National Weather Service in La Crosse has issued a Winter Storm Watch which goes into effect at 1am Sunday morning and will expire at 4am Monday morning for the following counties, Mitchell, Howard, Winneshiek, Allamakee, Floyd and Chickasaw.

A WIDE BAND OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL IS ANTICIPATED TO
DEVELOP OVER NORTHWEST IOWA BY LATE SATURDAY AND TO CONTINUE INTO
SUNDAY. INITIAL INDICATIONS ARE THAT WIDE SWATH OF 6 PLUS INCHES
WITH A VERY HEAVY BAND OF 8 TO 14 INCHES MAY OCCUR SOMEWHERE OVER
THE WATCH AREA. BETTER RESOLUTION ON THE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS AND
PLACEMENT WILL BE PASSED ALONG WITH FUTURE FORECASTS. BLIZZARD
LIKE CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP BY SUNDAY AS NORTHERLY WINDS INCREASE TO
25 TO 35 MPH…GUSTING TO 45 MPH. IN ADDITION TO POTENTIAL
WHITEOUT CONDITIONS…THESE WINDS WOULD CREATE SIGNIFICANT BLOWING
AND DRIFTING OF SNOW.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT
SNOW…SLEET…OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL.
CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.