Snow and cold expected to last through Christmas

If you’re a tradionalist with dreams of a White Christmas — your hopes should be realized. National Weather Service meteorologist Jeremy Sams says Mother Nature stepped in right on cue to dump snow across Iowa as we head into the first day of winter. He says there’s around an inch in the Des Moines area, ares to the north, Ames, Marshaltown had around two inches, and Mason City and Lake Mills had three-and-a-half to four inches of snow. Sams says the cold front that brought in the snow will keep things frigid for awhile and ensure the white stuff is around a few days. He says it looks like it will start to warm up back into the 20’s on Christmas day and then into the 30’s and 40’s the day after Christmas, but he says the snow should stick around until Christmas Day. While the snow flocks the trees and warms the hearts of those who like the traditonal Christmas, the snow cover helps keep things cooler. He says the snow cover typically has its greatest impact on lower temperatures by radiating the heat during the day. Sams says an inch of snow can keep it about five degrees cooler, and with it already predicted to be cold, he says the snow will reinforce the chilly temps. He says most of the heat that normally heats up the earth will go into melting the snow and that may temper the warm up. The good news is that this first day of winter is the shortest day of the year and the days will start getting longer with more sunlight. The state’s climatologist says weather records show a White Christmas is a 50-50 proposition in Iowa.