A massive winter storm system that stretches a thousand miles from the Great Plains to the Mid-Atlantic states threatens to coat a wide section of Iowa with a layer of ice later this weekend. Meteorologist Kurt Kotenberg, at the National Weather Service bureau in metro Des Moines, says most of the state is now under a Winter Storm Watch.
“Confidence is very high right now that we’re going to have that wintery system come in sometime around Sunday afternoon into Monday morning and afternoon,” Kotenberg says. “There’s going to be some notable impacts with this, especially during that Sunday night-to-Monday morning period where we could see freezing rain and ice accumulation of up to a quarter-of-an-inch across central and southern Iowa.”
Since temperatures will be hovering around the freezing mark, much of the precipitation may fall as rain or freezing rain but likely -not- as snow, though parts of northern Iowa (north of Highway 20) may see an inch or so of snow. He predicts ice will cause the most trouble with this storm.
“The most ice will likely be accumulating between midnight and 6 AM or so Monday morning,” Kotenberg says. “Unfortunately, we’re likely going to wake up to icy roadways across Iowa. Temperatures, we’re going to stay near or below freezing during that morning commute and I don’t see it melting off anytime soon.”
Thick ice can build up on tree limbs, causing them to break and fall on power lines, bringing outages. If you have a generator, gas it up, as electric outages could be widespread. The commute to start the week could very well be a mess. “Be prepared now and make sure you’re ready to go Monday morning,” Kotenberg says. “If you do have to head out, be ready for the slippery conditions on the road, slippery sidewalks and plan on taking it easy on the roadways because travel will likely not be pleasant Monday morning.”
On the plus side, winds are forecast to be very light, only five to ten miles an hour, so it’s not likely there will be a lot of galloping, snapping power lines nor will wind chills be extreme.
(Radio Iowa)
Today: Mostly cloudy. High 23. E/NE @ 5-10.
Tonight: Mo. Cldy. Low 13. NE @ 5.
Tomorrow: Mo. Cldy. High 28. Variable breeze @ 5-10mph.
Sunday: **Winter Storm Watch in effect at 6-a.m. Sunday thru Noon Monday** A 50% chance of snow/freezing rain thru early afternoon, then snow & sleet. High 31. E/SE @ 5-10. Snow/sleet accumulation of less than ½” expected.
Sunday Night: Freezing rain mixed at times w/sleet changing to all freezing rain after midnight. Low 27. New precip. between ¼-and 1/2” expected.
Monday: A mix of freezing rain and rain in the morning before becoming all rain. High 38.
Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 23. Our 24-hour Low (ending at 7-a.m. today) was 10. Last year on this date, our High in Atlantic was 41 and the low was 18. The Record High in Atlantic on this date was 62 in 1987. The Record Low was -24 in 1916.
Today: Mostly cloudy w/flurries. High 20. N @ 10-20.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 5. N @ 5.
Tomorrow: Mo. Cldy. High 23. NE @ 10mph.
Saturday: Cldy w/light snow or freezing drizzle. High 28.
Sunday: Cldy w/freezing drizzle and light freezing rain. High 32.
Our 24-hour High in Atlantic (ending at 7-a.m. today) was 35. Our 24-Hour Low was 10. We received a trace of snow yesterday and early this morning. Last year on this date, our High in Atlantic was 20 and the low was 1. The Record High in Atlantic on this date was 57 in 1961 & 1987. The Record Low was -37 in 1974.
Early This Morning: Cloudy, colder. North wind around 10 mph.
Today: Partly sunny. Colder. High in the lower 20s. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Low 5 to 10 above. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Mostly cloudy. High in the lower 20s. East wind around 10 mph.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy. High in the upper 20s. Northeast wind near 5 mph shifting to the north around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday: Cloudy. A slight chance of light freezing rain and sleet in the morning, then light sleet likely possibly mixed with freezing rain in the afternoon. High in the lower 30s. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.
Sunday Night: Freezing rain possibly mixed with sleet. Low in the mid 20s. Chance of precipitation 80 percent.
Martin Luther King Jr Day: Freezing rain possibly mixed with rain in the morning, then light rain likely in the afternoon. High in the mid 30s. Chance of precipitation 80 percent.
Today: Mostly cloudy (a slight chance of sleet this morning); High early around 38, w/temps slipping into the upper 20’s. S winds becoming N @ 10-20.
Tonight: Mostly Cloudy w/a chance of flurries or light snow. Low 8. N @ 10-25. Tomorrow: Mo. Cldy. High 20. N @ 15-20mph.
Friday: Mo. Cldy. High 22.
Saturday: Mo. Cldy w/a chance of light mixed precip. High 28.
Our 24-hour High in Atlantic (ending at 7-a.m. today) was 37. Our 24-Hour Low was 22. We received .14” of rain yesterday (24-hour total). Last year on this date, our High in Atlantic was 33 and the low was 2. The Record High in Atlantic on this date was 55 in 1986. The Record Low was -22 in 1892.
Early This Morning: Mostly cloudy. South wind 10 to 15 mph.
Today: Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of light freezing rain through mid morning. High in the mid 30s. South wind 5 to 10 mph shifting to the north around 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of light snow after midnight. Colder. Low 5 to 10 above. North wind 5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph through midnight.
Thursday: Mostly sunny. Colder. High in the lower 20s. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy. Low 5 to 10 above. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Mostly cloudy. High in the lower 20s. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Cloudy. Low 10 to 15.
Saturday: Cloudy. High in the upper 20s.
MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTIES:
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY EXTENDED UNTIL NOON TODAY…
* TIMING…WITH RAIN ENDED…COLDER TEMPERATURES WERE CAUSING WET ROADWAYS TO FREEZE OVER. THE ICY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH THE MORNING. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW FREEZING INTO THE AFTERNOON.
* MAIN IMPACT…UNTREATED ROADS AND SIDEWALKS WILL BECOME VERY
SLICK. RAISED SURFACES MAY ACCUMULATE A LIGHT COATING OF ICE
WHERE SURFACE TEMPERATURES ARE AROUND OR BELOW FREEZING.
AREA COUNTIES: CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD…948 AM CST TUE JAN 10 2017
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY, WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING.
* TIMING…LATE THIS MORNING INTO EARLY EVENING.
* WINDS…WESTERLY TO NORTHWESTERLY WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH
GUSTS TO 45 MPH.
* IMPACTS…HIGH-PROFILE VEHICLES MAY HAVE ISSUES WITH THE STRONG
WINDS…AND ANY LOOSE OBJECTS OUT DOORS MAY BECOME LOFTED DUE TO THE STRONG WINDS.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED. WINDS
THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT, ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH
PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR FREEZING RAIN AND A WINTERY MIX OF PRECIPITATION, IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3-P.M. TODAY FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL AND GREENE, AND UNTIL 10-A.M. TODAY FOR MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY AND POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTIES.
LOW PRESSURE ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST NORTHEAST THIS MORNING BEFORE EXITING INTO WISCONSIN BY
AFTERNOON. THIS WILL PRODUCE MAINLY RAIN SOUTH…BUT A MIX ACROSS THE ADVISORY AREA FROM FREEZING RAIN TO SLEET AND SNOW SOUTH TO NORTH BEFORE CHANGING TO ALL SNOW AS THE SYSTEM EXITS AND WINDS.
* SHORT TERM TRENDS...FREEZING RAIN CONTINUES TO FALL ACROSS THE AREA WITH MANY ROADS AND SIDEWALKS BECOMING COATED IN ICE. A PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW BY LATE
MORNING TO AROUND MIDDAY AND ENDING ALTOGETHER BY 3PM OR 4PM.
* STORM TOTAL SNOW/ICE ACCUMULATIONS…ICE ACCUMULATIONS LESS THAN ONE TENTH OF AN INCH ARE EXPECTED WITH VERY LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS.
* WINDS/VISIBILITY…WINDS WILL SHARPLY INCREASE WEST TO EAST
BETWEEN 10AM AND 2PM. SUSTAINED SPEEDS MAY REACH 25 TO 30 MPH
WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH. THESE WINDS MAY BRIEFLY COINCIDE WITH
SNOW PRODUCING LOW VISIBILITIES AND DIFFICULT TRAVEL.
* IMPACTS…ALTHOUGH AMOUNTS WILL BE LIGHT…ROAD TEMPERATURES
REMAIN BELOW FREEZING AND LIGHT FREEZING RAIN…SLEET OR SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS MAY LEAD TO HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS. BLOWING SNOW MAY ALSO COMPOUND THE SITUATION WITH LIMITED
VISIBILITIES.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW, SLEET, OR
FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR
SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES, AND USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.
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