The commute could be dicey tomorrow morning across parts of northern Iowa, as forecasters say the region may get snow — starting tonight — along a coating of ice.
Meteorologist Craig Cogil, at the National Weather Service, says a Winter Weather Advisory is posted for cities including Mason City, Waterloo, Dubuque and Decorah.
“It looks like heaviest amounts will be north-central and northeastern Iowa, anywhere from one to four inches,” Cogil says, “and the concern there is that some of the heaviest snow may be falling around the morning commute time. So, those folks that live across the about the northern third of the state need to be aware of that as we head into work on Friday morning.”
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Another, larger weather system is forecast to arrive on Sunday that could bring more precipitation to much of the state. Cogil says that second storm system is shaping up to be “vigorous.”
“Right now, it looks to spread rainfall and snowfall across Iowa starting early Sunday and then continuing into Monday,” Cogil says. “Right now, it looks like the bulk of the state will likely just see rainfall with the system, however, across far northern Iowa, there is the potential to see accumulating snowfall.”
Some forecast models indicate the snowfall in segments of northern Iowa could be as much as six inches in that second storm, but Cogil says it’s not clear if the rain/snow line will be in Iowa or Minnesota. He says the first storm is much more likely to drop some flakes.
“The system tonight does look like they should definitely get some snow out of that,” he says. “The one that we need to monitor closer is the one Sunday into Monday, it’s where that rain/snow line really ends up, and that’s a little difficult to tell this far out.”
The long-range forecast calls for temperatures to climb back into the 50s by the middle of next week.