Have you enjoyed the wonderful, mild fall conditions so far with virtually no mention of snow?! Well, it is that time of the year – and we do have to talk about a potential upcoming significant winter storm expected to impact the area on Friday.

A Winter Storm Watch has been posted for areas along and north of Highway 30 to Highway 18 from Friday morning through Friday evening. We will likely see precipitation overspread the area by early afternoon, with snow likely in the northwest and rain for those in the southeast, however things should transition to all snow in a northwest to southeast line. Things will likely remain rain the longest south of Interstate 80 and east of Interstate 35, with a quick snow transition happening to the opposite of that (north of I-80 and west of I-35). How soon things transition to snow is the one of the larger wild card variables occurring in the forecast.

It’s important to note that these accumulations likely won’t happen on roadways. The roads will be too warm and should melt into a wet/slushy type mess. It would still be a good idea to drive slow as hydroplaning is just as dangerous as a sheet of snow. The accumulations will be evident on grassy/vegetation surfaces before the pavement. However, as the night goes on, and snowfall rates increase – accumulations will begin piling on the roadways. This is especially concerning as this will occur during rush hour. With 10-15 MPH winds with gusts to 25 MPH, low visibility can also be expected. This is a very hazardous situation as this is the first event of the season, and not only is it the first snow, but the first significant storm we’ve seen. All of this happening during Friday night rush hour will make travel dangerous.

Snow will taper off overnight from west-to-east with some snow likely hanging around the early morning hours across eastern Iowa.

Attention then turns to a large cool down that is expected this weekend. Highs Friday are expected to be in the low 30s northwest to the upper 40s southeast, with lows in the mid teens to upper 20s. The coldest night will likely be on Saturday and Saturday night with highs in the mid 20s to mid 30s with lows in the middle single digits for some areas. Definitely a weekend to make sure the heat is running and bundle up, as it will be a frigid one out there.