Snowfall in Atlantic at the KJAN studios over the past 24-hours ending at 7-a.m. amounted to 5-inches. The translates into a liquid value of .4″.  Unofficial reports said Audubon had 8 inches of snow, Avoca 9 inches.  Here’s the Iowa Mesonet graph of estimated snowfall amounts….

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Authorities are discouraging travel in eastern Nebraska and much of Iowa western Iowa as a late-winter storm heads east.  Portions of Iowa Highway 141 and U.S. highways 59, 30 and 20 in western Iowa were reported impassable on Monday. But Interstates 80 and 29 are open for traffic.

Sections of both interstates were closed for a time on Sunday as heavy snow was blown by strong winds, creating whiteout in many spots. Officials reported several multiple-car accidents Sunday along a 200-mile stretch of Interstate 80 that runs east and west through the two states.

A winter storm warning issued by the National Weather Service remains in effect in until 7 a.m. For much of central and north central Iowa; a winter weather advisory remains in effect for Iowa. North-northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts near 45 mph are expected to cause blowing snow, reducing visibility to less than one-half mile at times.

Iowa’s 511 system is presently reporting that roadways in the Correctionville, Denison and Ida Grove areas are impassible. Roads in western and northeast Iowa are partially to completely covered snow covered. Travel remains hazardous along Interstates 29 and 80 in western Iowa, and also east of Mason City and north of Waterloo.

Unsafe conditions for snowplow operators in keeping roadways open caused the many of Iowa DOT’s maintenance garages to suspend operations across the state. Operations in these areas are scheduled to resume as day light appears and as the wind conditions lessen.

Motorists should exercise extreme caution during the morning commute and while otherwise traveling this morning. Remember, “Don’t Crowd the Plow,” and make sure to carry appropriate winter survival items in your vehicle.

For Iowa road condition information, visit http://www.511ia.org/; call 511 in Iowa or 800-288-1047 nationwide; or visit Twitter @iowadot or @statewideia511. Use the hashtag #iatraffic when tweeting about this winter storm.

Early This Morning: Light snow. Breezy…colder. New snow accumulation up to 1 inch. Total snow accumulation 3 to 7 inches. Northwest wind 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow near 100 percent.
Today: Mostly cloudy. Breezy. High in the upper 20s. Northwest wind 10 to 20 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph in the morning.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Isolated light snow showers in the evening. Low in the lower 20s. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Gusts up to 20 mph after midnight. Chance of snow 20 percent.

Tuesday: Partly sunny. Isolated light snow showers in the afternoon. Breezy. High in the mid 30s. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Gusts up to 35 mph. Chance of snow 20 percent.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear. Low around 15. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph through midnight.

Wednesday: Partly sunny. High in the upper 30s. Northwest wind around 5 mph shifting to the southwest up to 5 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night And Thursday: Partly cloudy. Not as cool. Low in the upper 20s. High in the upper 40s.

Thursday Night Through Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Low in the mid 30s. High in the lower 50s.

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

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356 AM CDT MON MAR 11 2013

…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM CDT THIS MORNING…

* SHORT TERM TRENDS…LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE EARLY THIS MORNING…ENDING WELL BEFORE NOON.

* STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS…TOTAL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES.

* WINDS/VISIBILITY…NORTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WILL PERSIST THIS MORNING…RESULTING IN BLOWING SNOW AND REDUCED VISIBILITY OF LESS THAN A MILE AT TIMES.

* IMPACTS…HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED EARLY THIS MORNING DUE TO BURSTS OF ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL REDUCING VISIBILITY AND MAKING ROADS SLICK IN SOME AREAS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITY…AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

GUTHRIE COUNTY 356 AM CDT MON MAR 11 2013

…WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM CDT THIS MORNING…

* SHORT TERM TRENDS…BANDS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW WILL CONTINUE EARLY THIS MORNING…ENDING BY LATE MORNING.

* STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS…TOTAL AMOUNTS OF 6 TO 10 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS.

* WINDS/VISIBILITY…NORTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WILL PERSIST THIS MORNING… RESULTING IN BLOWING SNOW AND REDUCED VISIBILITY OF LESS THAN A MILE AT TIMES.

* IMPACTS…HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED EARLY THIS MORNING DUE TO BURSTS OF ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL REDUCING VISIBILITY AND MAKING ROADS SLICK IN SOME AREAS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL…KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT… FOOD…AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

The Winter Storm that caught many motorists by surprise and left many stranded and seeking shelter, also resulted in numerous accidents and road closures. As of 3-a.m. Monday, the Iowa Department of Transportation said roads along and south of Interstate 80 were completely covered with snow and/or ice. North of I-80, Highway 59, from Harlan all the way north of Highway 20, was completely impassable and whiteout conditions were being experienced. Travel was not advised on Highway 30, between Interstate 29 half-way to Denison, and the road was impassable from the intersection of Highway 37 northeast to Denison. Travel was not advised on I-29 from I-80 to near Sioux City.

Earlier accidents on I-80 two-miles east of Shelby and another near Walnut, blocked traffic in both directions for hours, Sunday. There were injuries reported, but none appeared to have been serious. The accident near Shelby involved several semis and cars. In Cass County, deputies worked to shuttle motorists to area hotels as quickly as possible. When the hotels became full, the Nishna Valley YMCA in Atlantic opened its doors as an emergency shelter. There was no word early Monday morning on how many motorists were being housed there.

Several schools have cancelled or delayed the start of classes for today. For the latest road information, go to 511ia.org, or call 511. Outside of Iowa, call 1-800-288-1047.

230 PM CDT SUN MAR 10 2013

…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM CDT MONDAY…

REST OF TODAY...SNOW…BREEZY…COLDER. NEW SNOW ACCUMULATION AROUND 2 INCHES. HIGH IN THE MID 30S. TEMPERATURE STEADY OR SLOWLY FALLING THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON. NORTH WIND 20 TO 25 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW NEAR 100 PERCENT.

TONIGHT...SNOW THROUGH MIDNIGHT…THEN A CHANCE OF SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. BREEZY…COLDER. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 2 TO 3 INCHES. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION 4 TO 5 INCHES. LOW IN THE LOWER 20S. NORTH WIND 15 TO 25 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST 10 TO 15 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT. CHANCE OF SNOW NEAR 100 PERCENT.

MONDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH AROUND 30. NORTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

MONDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 20S. WEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

TUESDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. SCATTERED FLURRIES. HIGH IN THE MID 30S. NORTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

TUESDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW 15 TO 20.

WEDNESDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. SCATTERED FLURRIES. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S.

MONONA-HARRISON-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…ONAWA…MAPLETON…MISSOURI VALLEY…

WOODBINE…LOGAN…DUNLAP

114 PM CDT SUN MAR 10 2013

…WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM CDT MONDAY…

* TIMING…OCCASIONAL MODERATE SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING WITH THE STRONG NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS CAUSING BLOWING SNOW.

* ACCUMULATION…ADDITIONAL SNOW AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE EXPECTED…BRINGING TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS INTO THE 4 TO 8 INCH RANGE ACROSS HARRISON COUNTY.

* WINDS…NORTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.

* MAIN IMPACT…SLICK ROADS AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES ARE THE MAIN IMPACTS. VISIBILITIES MAY DROP TO A HALF MILE OR LESS DUE TO SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL…KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT… FOOD…AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.