There are nearly six weeks left in autumn, but some three-dozen counties across northern Iowa are under a Winter Weather Advisory. Frank Boksa, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, says it’s a cold, drizzly, miserable Veterans Day morning across much of the state, and it won’t get much better throughout the day.
He says counties in the area can expect a mix of sleet and freezing rain with a gradual transition to rain or a mix of rain and snow. Boksa says some parts of northern Iowa, from Fort Dodge through Mason City, could get several inches of snow today, depending on how the pressure systems collide and move.
He says there’s a lot of energy in the storm system and that narrow band of counties is facing the possibility of two-to-four inches of snow. Even though winter won’t officially arrive until December 21st, Boksa says Iowans are used to getting the foul weather several weeks early.
Boksa says it’s not unusual to see snowfall in November. He notes how quickly Iowa’s seen weather leap from summer-like conditions directly into winter, with very little fall. Eight days ago, Iowans were enjoying sunny skies and high temperatures in the 70s and 80s. Most of the state won’t see highs today much above the 30s.