There no room for new snow

Forecasters say another storm could drop several inches of snow on Iowa today and tomorrow. The Iowa Department of Transportation says another heavy snow could cause them problems getting the roads cleared.Dennis Burkheimer of the D-O-T says many ditches are already overflowing with snow from past storms, leaving them little room for any new white stuff. Burkheimer says full ditches make it more likely that there’ll be drifting snow onto highways. He says they’ll do what they can to keep highways open.They have heavy-duty snowblowers, but it may take more time to get the roads open. Burkheimer says the cost to move all that snow is building too.They’ve already spent around 14-million on snow and ice removal — about one-and-a-half million more than they budgeted for this year. State officials aren’t the only ones struggling with the snow. Cedar Rapids Streets Commissioner Don Thomas says the extra strain on equipment is showing through.The City of Five Seasons is also feeling the budget impact of all the snow. He says they’ve already used more salt, sand and paid more in overtime already this year than they did all of last year.The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for northern Iowa for tonight.