Iowa utility officials say only a few dozen homes are still without power this morning after more than 21,000-plus customers lost electricity in Sunday’s severe storms. Craig Cogil, a National Weather Service meteorologist, says strong winds whipped across Iowa, tearing off tree limbs and knocking out the power.
Cogil says winds topped out Sunday at 68 miles an hour in Ventura, near Mason City, with gusts nearly as strong across central Iowa. Those winds blew in the first snow of the season, which Cogil says is not uncommon for late October.
There was snowfall across northern Iowa from Mason City to Waterloo and Dubuque, though he says it didn’t stick long as the ground temperatures were still warm. Some areas in Iowa reported reduced visibility on roads due to the blowing snow and strong winds.
Due to those strong winds, the Iowa D.O.T. closed the mile-long bridge that carries Highway 415 over Saylorville Lake in Polk County. It may reopen tonight.
Cogil says we’re in for a very frigid evening, but a warm-up is on the way for trick-or-treaters. He says tonight is expected to be the coldest night of the year so far, with lows in the teens and 20s, but high temperatures may be back into the 60s and 70s by Thursday and Friday. Friday is Halloween.