A winter snowstorm is making its way across the state of Iowa today. National Weather Service meteorologist, Rich Kinney, says the storm is tracking right along I-80. Kinney says south of I-80 there’s rain this morning with some locations changing over to freezing rain, while to the north has some of the most hazardous conditions. He says things will change to snow in the south through the afternoon.
Kinney says some areas are going to get hit hard again by the snow. He says the heaviest snowfall should come between the Highway 20 and Highway 30 corridors, and that’s where there’s a winter storm warning. Kinney says that area could see six to eight inches of snow. The rest of the state could get anywhere from one to four inches. Kinney says the winds will pick up later today and they may add to the problems.
Kinney says we could see some blowing and drifting snow problems in open areas, although he says this snow may be heavy enough that it is not a problem. Kinney says this latest storm is another repeat of the weather systems we’ve seen all winter. Kinney says it’s just a pattern where we’re getting periodic storms moving over the same areas, and the more intense storms pull warmer air to the north that leads to the mix of precipitation before everything turns to snow.
Kinney says the snow should stop by Tuesday, and we shouldn’t see the drop to subzero temperatures like we saw last week.
The weather led to an accident with serious injuries that forced the closure of Interstate 35 this morning near milemarker 204 in far northern Iowa’s Worth County. There have been numerous reports of cars and trucks going into the ditches in northern Iowa. Several area school districts canceled classes for the day.
You can check the latest road and travel conditions on the DOT’s website .