“Breaker-breaker-one-nine” was how truck drivers used to communicate on the citizen’s band radio, but technology has changed. The Iowa Department of Transportation is reaching out to truckers during this latest snowstorm, hoping they’ll send Tweets, pictures and video about the messes they’re encountering. Bob Younie is the D-O-T’s state maintenance engineer.  “We think it would be very useful for professional drivers and other motorists to let us know what they see,” Younie says. “We can’t be in every part of the system all the time, although we’re continually plowing snow. We think the use of social media will help us understand what people are seeing and experiencing.” The snowstorm that hit December 19th and 20th dropped nearly 14 inches of snow on parts of central Iowa. Younie says situations arose during that storm that were teachable moments where a quick note via Twitter or Facebook would have gone a long ways to helping overcome winter travel obstacles.

“People experience a condition that sometimes we don’t see, for example, a slow-down in traffic or people being unable to move or people being stranded,” Younie says. “We had some comments about that during the blizzard.  Those are the kinds of information that’s valuable to us. We want to know things we can take action on.” Today’s snowstorm is much less ferrocious than the late December blizzard, but parts of Iowa may still get six to eight inches of snow from this blast. Plus, the winds are whipping up the snow and causing white-out conditions in some areas.

Younie says, “There’s snow on the roads, snow’s blowing and people need to be concerned with their own personal safety by slowing down, giving a little extra space around them, and let’s just all travel safely.” The Iowa DOT is using the following hashtag — #iatraffic — during this event and recommends other Twitter users do the same to find relevant tweets using that key phrase. If you’re sending pictures or video, use the “geotag” function, so your location can be pinpointed. Keep up on conditions by calling 511 or visit “511ia.org”.

(Radio Iowa)

These are from various reports received through 7-a.m. by the National Weather Service and media outlets: In Atlantic (KJAN studios), 4.2″….Creston 4.5″….Glenwood  6″….Audubon  5″…Avoca  4″.. and Hamburg 4″.  The snow had begun to taper-off to flurries by 8-a.m. across most of western Iowa, but the wind was still creating some whiteout conditions.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Snow and gusty winds are slicking roads and slowing travel in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. A winter weather advisory remained in effect Wednesday morning for the southeastern quarter of Nebraska. Weather forecasters estimated that up to 3 inches of snow had fallen by early Wednesday morning in the Omaha area, while Lincoln officials reported around 6 inches of snow. In western Iowa, roadways were covered with a mix of snow and ice, and the Iowa Department of Transportation warned of treacherous driving conditions.

Most schools from Lincoln to Omaha in Nebraska and in western Iowa canceled Wednesday classes.  The National Weather Service has also issued a winter storm warning for parts of central Iowa later Wednesday, with Cedar Rapids forecast to get up to 7 inches of snow.

Here’s the Freese-Notis (podcast) forecast for the KJAN listening area, Weather-related announcements, and the weather data for Atlantic….

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More big changes in the weather are coming. After an ice storm Sunday and an about-face with highs yesterday in the 50s and 60s, thunderstorms rolled over Iowa last night. The daytime high in Atlantic Monday was 47, but overnight, the temperature rose to 57 before falling back to 35 degrees by 5-a.m.  The 24-hour high of 57 was just one-degree shy of tying the record high for Jan. 28th.  The temperature rise overnight caused Red Oak to set a new 24-hour high of 61-degrees.

Forecasters say temperatures will drop today and a Winter Storm Watch is now posted for counties from southwest to central to northeast Iowa. Meteorologist Aubrey Wilkins, at the National Weather Service, says make sure your snowblower is full of gas. There’s the chance of heavy snow, with four to six inches possible across parts of central Iowa. Wilkins says the topsy-turvy weather will continue tomorrow as an arctic blast will make its way toward Iowa.

Wilkins says lows by tomorrow night will be in the single digits or below zero, a turnaround in two days of 60 degrees. High temperatures by the weekend will likely be back in the 20s and 30s, more the norm for the season.

(Radio Iowa & KJAN’s Ric Hanson contributed to this report)

Here’s the (podcast) Freese-Notis forecast for Atlantic and the KJAN listening area, and weather data for Atlantic, along with the latest Winter Weather Watches or advisories…..

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A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR CASS, ADAIR, ADAMS, GUTHRIE, DALLAS, UNION, TAYLOR & RINGGOLD COUNTIES FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH WED. MORNING.**A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM 7-PM TUE. TO 7-AM WED., FOR MILLS, MONTGOMERY, FREMONT & PAGE COUNTIES.

Today: Cloudy. A slight chance of light rain until late afternoon…then a chance of light rain…light snow and light sleet late in the afternoon. High in the lower 40s. North wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.
Tonight: Snow and rain likely in the evening…then snow likely overnight. Breezy…colder. Snow accumulation of 4 to 5 inches. Low in the lower 20s. North wind 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. Breezy…colder. Scattered flurries. High in the mid 20s. Northwest wind 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 35 mph.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy through midnight then becoming partly cloudy. Colder. Low 5 to 10 above. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Thursday: Partly sunny. Colder. High around 15. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.
Thursday Night And Friday: Partly cloudy. Not as cold. Low zero to 5 above. High in the mid 20s.

Here’s the Freese-Notis (podcast) Skyscan Forecast for the KJAN listening area and weather data for Atlantic….

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…DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST TODAY…

TODAY…CLOUDY. AREAS OF DENSE FOG IN THE MORNING…THEN PATCHY FOG IN THE AFTERNOON. AREAS OF DRIZZLE IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE UPPER 40S. SOUTHEAST WIND NEAR 10 MPH.

TONIGHT…CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN THROUGH THE NIGHT. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS BEFORE MIDNIGHT AND EARLY MORNING. LOW IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 30 PERCENT.

TUESDAY…CLOUDY. HIGH IN THE MID 40S. TEMPERATURE STEADY OR SLOWLY FALLING IN THE AFTERNOON. NORTHWEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

TUESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. MUCH COLDER. SCATTERED FLURRIES. LOW IN THE LOWER 20S. NORTHWEST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

WEDNESDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. BREEZY. MUCH COLDER. SCATTERED FLURRIES. HIGH IN THE LOWER 20S. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 25 MPH.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW 5 TO 10 ABOVE. HIGH 10 TO 15.

The 24-hour high in Atlantic ending at 7-a.m. Sunday (today) was 44 degrees. The 24-hour Low was 9. At 7-a.m. it was 39-degrees & there was light rain. 24-hour rainfall in Atlantic was .14″.

Today: Rain before noon, then occasional drizzle between noon and 3pm, then a chance of rain or drizzle after 3pm. High near 46. South southeast wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 9pm. Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 33. South southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47. Calm wind becoming east southeast 5 to 7 mph in the morning.
Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 33. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph after midnight. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tuesday: A slight chance of rain and sleet before noon, then a slight chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20. Blustery.

Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 24. Blustery.