The National Weather Service has now issued a Winter Storm Warning effective from this evening until 6pm Saturday evening for the following counties, Calhoun, Carroll, Crawford, Emmet, Humboldt, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Sac, Webster, Winnebago, Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Ida, OBrien and Osceola. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for Greene, Hancock and Wright Counties, until 3pm Saturday afternoon.

* TIMING…RAIN INCREASING THIS EVENING WILL CHANGE TO SNOW BEFORE MIDNIGHT. THE SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING…THEN DECREASE SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

* ACCUMULATIONS…SNOW ACCUMULATIONS BY LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON WILL VARY FROM 4 TO 10 INCHES IN THE WARNING AREA…WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS OF 8 TO 10 INCHES ALONG AND EAST OF A SPIRIT LAKE TO SPENCER TO STORM LAKE LINE.

* WIND AND VISIBILITY…NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 MPH BY EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. THESE STRONG WINDS COMBINED WITH HEAVY SNOWFALL WILL LOWER VISIBILITIES TO A QUARTER MILE AT TIMES.

This will be the first accumulating snow of the year for the state, be careful if you are going to be driving in the northwestern parts of the state between now and Saturday evening as roads may become slick.