The (Podcast) forecast for Atlantic and the KJAN listening from Freese-Notis Meteorologist Wesley Rondinelli, and the weather stats for Atlantic.

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343 AM CST SAT DEC 22 2012

TODAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND NEAR 10 MPH.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW 5 TO 10 ABOVE. NORTH WIND NEAR 10 MPH.

SUNDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. COLDER. HIGH IN THE LOWER 20S. NORTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOW 5 TO 10 ABOVE. NORTHWEST WIND NEAR 10 MPH.

MONDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH 15 TO 20. NORTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

MONDAY NIGHT AND CHRISTMAS DAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOW 5 TO 10 ABOVE. HIGH AROUND 10.

TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOW NEAR ZERO. HIGH AROUND 10.

The Iowa Department of Transportation reported today (Friday) at 8-a.m.,  that travel conditions are slowly beginning to improve in the state. However, many roads remain completely or partially covered with snow and ice pack. Interstate 35 from Ames to Mason City, both north- and southbound, has been reopened.

Travelers are advised to check Iowa’s 511 travel information system before making their trip by calling 800-288-1047 nationwide or 511 within Iowa, or visiting http://www.511ia.org. Several additional options for mobile access, text and email, or information through Twitter or Facebook are described on this website. In  western and southwest Iowa, roads are still reported to be mostly covered with snow primarily north of Highway 34, while roads primarily south of Highway 34 were partially covered with snow.

Primary travel concerns this morning are focused in eastern Iowa.  Considerable blowing and drifting snow will continue to make travel hazardous in that part of the State until mid morning. Northwest winds in eastern Iowa, will be sustained at 20 to 30 mph, with some gusts near 40 mph. Visibility to one mile or less can be expected in open, rural areas.

Iowa DOT crews are out this morning trying to restore travel to normal winter driving conditions and open blocked roads as quickly as possible. Conditions should continue to improve throughout the day.

The Freese-Notis (podcast) forecast for the KJAN listening area, and weather data for Atlantic…

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TODAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 20S. WEST WIND NEAR 10 MPH.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW 5 TO 10 ABOVE. SOUTH WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

SATURDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH AROUND 30. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW 5 TO 10 ABOVE. NORTHWEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SUNDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 20S. NORTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SUNDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW 10 TO 15.

MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGH AROUND 20. LOW 5 TO 10 ABOVE.

The first major winter storm of the season left a wide range of snowfall totals across Iowa. Harry Hillaker is the State Climatologist. He says the heaviest snow, 13.8 inches, fell at the National Weather Service office in Johnston. Marshalltown reported 13 inches of snow, while the Des Moines Airport recorded 12.4 inches. Areas of northeast Iowa are also reporting high snowfall totals with 10 inches in Waterloo and up to 11 inches in Dubuque. Meanwhile, many areas of far northwest and southeast Iowa received just 1 to 3 inches snow. Hillaker says this blizzard may be the biggest winter storm to hit Iowa since December 8-9, 2009 — although that event was more widespread.

“A larger area of heavy snow occurred with that December 2009 storm,” Hillaker said. “We had a statewide average of 10.3 inches of snowfall. This current storm will probably end up being around 6 to 6.5 inches for a statewide average.” This storm, like the one in 2009, included high winds that helped knocked out power to tens-of-thousands of Iowans. The National Weather Service reported winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour across much of the state Thursday, with a 60 mile per hour wind gust recorded in Ottumwa. This blizzard could also be compared to a massive winter storm that blanketed Iowa in early January 1996 when nearly 14 inches of snow fell in Des Moines. Hillaker notes there was already a lot of snow on the ground when that storm hit.

“And it was a much colder storm. Temperatures were in the teens when the snow started, so it was a very dry, fluffy snow that drifted very badly compared with this current event as temperatures were near freezing and the snow was a bit stickier,” Hillaker said. The snow that’s on the ground across Iowa won’t be melting anytime soon as high temperatures are expected in the teens to low 30s over the next several days. The next chance for snow arrives early next week, including Christmas Day.
………..
Other snowfall totals for Thursday:

Atlantic: 7.0 inches

Audubon: 7 inches
Carroll: 6 inches
Clarinda: 2.5 inches
Creston: 5.5 inches
Denison: 8 inches

(Radio Iowa)

COUNTIES: SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-ADAIR- MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD-346 PM CST THU DEC 20 2012 …WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CST THIS EVENING...

* SHORT TERM TRENDS...FRESH SNOWFALL WILL BE EASILY LOFTED BY STRONG AND GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS. WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 50 MPH WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO BELOW ONE HALF MILE…ESPECIALLY IN RURAL AREAS.

* WINDS/VISIBILITY…STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS AT 25 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 50 MPH. HOWEVER…WINDS WILL SLOWLY SUBSIDE THROUGH THE EVENING.

* IMPACTS…MANY ROADS REMAIN VERY DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO NAVIGATE. VISIBILITIES IN OPEN AND RURAL AREAS WILL ALSO REMAIN QUITE LOW MAKING TRAVEL DIFFICULT. STRONG WINDS MAY ALSO CAUSE DAMAGE TO SNOW COVERED TREES AND POWER LINES.

COUNTIES: CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION- TAYLOR-RINGGOLD-
1158 AM CST THU DEC 20 2012

…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR LIGHT SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW…WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON.

LIGHT FALLING SNOW ALONG WITH SNOW BEING LOFTED BY WINDS OF 25 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 45 MPH WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO BELOW ONE HALF MILE…ESPECIALLY IN RURAL AREAS.

STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS AT 25 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 50 MPH. HOWEVER…WINDS WILL SLOWLY SUBSIDE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.

MANY ROADS REMAIN VERY DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO NAVIGATE. VISIBILITIES IN OPEN AND RURAL AREAS WILL ALSO REMAIN QUITE LOW THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.  USE CAUTION WHEN TRAVELING…ESPECIALLY IN OPEN AREAS. TRAVEL HOWEVER IS STRONGLY DISCOURAGED THROUGH MIDNIGHT!

Heavy snow’s already on the ground from the first major snowstorm of the season. Several counties in central Iowa report more than a foot of snow while a cluster of counties in northeast Iowa have nearly 11 inches. In Atlantic, we received 7-inches of snow outside the KJAN studios from 3-pm Wednesday through 7-a.m. today (Thursday).

National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Skow says the blizzard is beginning to ease.  “At this point, the storm is starting to pull slowly away from the state but we still have widespread snow across most of Iowa,” Skow says. “That should slowly taper off during the mid-to-late morning hours from west to east.” If you think you heard thunder last night — you did, and there was lightning, too. That’s “thundersnow,” according to Skow.

“Thundersnow is not terribly uncommon with these very strong systems,” he says. “And you have very strong winds. It’s a very strong system and that’s what led to that thundersnow.” While the snow is starting to lessen in western and central Iowa, Skow says another threat will remain through this afternoon.

“The big story today will be the winds,” he says. “We’re expecting strong winds, 30-40 miles per hour or even 50 to 60 mph wind gusts which will blow that snow around and create hazardous travel conditions.” Snowfall totals show three deep areas in the state — near Council Bluffs, around Des Moines, and between Dubuque and Waterloo. The deepest report is 13-point-1 inches, just north of Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Blizzard conditions have forced the cancellation of most flights at airports in parts of Iowa and eastern Nebraska, including Des Moines and Omaha. At Eppley Airfield in Omaha, 23 flights were cancelled Wednesday night and most early-morning flights were cancelled Thursday.  At the Des Moines airport, most flights early Thursday were grounded.

In Cedar Rapids, American and Delta airlines halted flights at the Eastern Iowa Airport until mid-afternoon.