(issued 4:12-a.m. Sat,/NWS Des Moines)

CLOUDS INCREASED FROM THE SOUTH ACROSS IOWA OVERNIGHT ALTHOUGH THERE WAS NO PRECIPITATION AS OF YET. LOWS REACHED THE UPPER TEENS TO LOWER 30S…BUT THE CLOUDS AND SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 5 TO 10 MPH LED TO TEMPERATURES SLOWLY RISING ABOVE THOSE VALUES HEADING TOWARD DAYBREAK.

Counties in pink have a Winter Storm Warning in effect from 7-pm 1/31-thru 9-p.m. 2/1/15

THE WEATHER WILL BECOME MUCH MORE ACTIVE THROUGH THE WEEKEND HOWEVER AS A LARGE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM TRACKS FROM THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES INTO THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY BY SUNDAY. A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW WAS ALREADY FALLING ACROSS KANSAS THIS MORNING AND SIMILAR PRECIPITATION WILL EXPAND INTO IOWA AND SURROUNDING STATES LATER TODAY.

BY TONIGHT THE PRECIPITATION WILL SWITCH TO NEARLY ALL SNOW AND CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY. WIDESPREAD MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED FROM IOWA INTO ILLINOIS WHERE 6 TO 10 INCHES MAY FALL AND WINTER STORM WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT. WINDS WILL INCREASE AS THE SYSTEM EXITS SUNDAY AS WELL COMPOUNDING THE STORM EFFECTS WITH BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.

THE PRECIPITATION WILL END BY SUNDAY NIGHT BUT BITTERLY COLD TEMPERATURES WILL RETURN HEADING INTO THE WORK WEEK. LOWS BY MONDAY MORNING ARE FORECAST TO BE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS ABOVE AND BELOW ZERO WITH WIND CHILLS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS BELOW ZERO.