Round two of the winter storm pushing through Iowa will involve high winds and extreme cold. Between Sunday and today, much of western Iowa received seven to 10 inches of snow. Five to eight inches fell across central Iowa, with one to four inches of snow over the eastern portion of the state.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Rod Donovan says Iowans can now expect blowing snow and dangerous wind chills. “We’ll have snow diminishing today, however we’ve got strong northwest winds moving into the state,” Donovan said. Temperatures will turn especially cold tonight, with wind chills hitting 20 to 30 below zero. Northwest winds, with gusts up to 30 miles per hour, will reduce visibility and blow snow across roads.
The Iowa Department of Transportation is reporting nearly all roads across the state are covered with a mix of snow and ice. It’s unlikely road conditions will improve anytime soon. “The winds have already kicked-in across south-central and western Iowa,” Donovan said. “Certainly, with the fluffy nature of the snow and the amounts we have, it’s going to be pretty conducive to a lot of blowing and drifting throughout the remainder of the day.”
High temperatures will range from the single digits to the 20s next few days with another chance for precipitation by the weekend.
“It’ll remain cold Wednesday into Thursday and then by the end of the week, we’re looking at another system moving in,” Donovan said. “It’ll be a little bit warmer, but we’re expecting snow chances to return.” At 9:30 this morning, the southbound lanes of Interstate 35 were closed near Elkhart in central Iowa due to multiple jackknifed semi trailers.
You can see the latest road conditions here: www.511ia.org