The growing season for 2009 is over in Iowa, or at least it’s about to be. A massive weather system is headed for the Hawkeye State that’s bringing extremely cold temperatures and the likelihood of snow. Karl Jungbluth (YUNG-blahth), a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, says much of Iowa will see at least flurries this weekend, while some areas will see snow accumulation.
“North-central Iowa really has the best shot as it comes across from northern Nebraska, across northern Iowa, and it’ll produce maybe up to an inch of snow on grassy areas,” Jungbluth says. “We’re not expecting any problems on roadways or anything like that.” Parts of Nebraska are expecting up to five-inches of snowfall from this storm system, but Jungbluth says the flakes will be tapering off by the time the front reaches Iowa. He says the snow that’s expected here will -not- be setting any records.
“No, definitely not,” Jungbluth says. “We’ve had snowfalls into the end of September even…It’s maybe a little bit early but really not too unusual.” He says the real news from this storm is the extreme cold, since much of Iowa was basking in the 60s and 70s earlier in the week, so this will be a harsh turn-around.
He says, “Saturday night into Sunday morning, we’re looking for a hard freeze across the state with temperatures in the 20s, so that will put an end to the growing season across Iowa and many locations in the upper Midwest, even down to Kansas City.” He says fall weather isn’t necessarily gone for the year, but this big chill is expected to keep temperatures in Iowa below normal well into next week.