iowa weather

MOINES, Iowa - Iowa road crews started to pretreat roads again across the state starting at 3 a.m. as snow moved into western Iowa. Interstate 80 and major highways west of Dallas County are already completely snow covered. In the Des Moines metro, snow started falling at about 6 a.m.

The National Weather Service in Des Moines has issued two weather warning that are now in effect. Southern Iowa is under an Ice Storm Warning, while northern Iowa is under a Winter Weather Warning.

A mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow is expected all day.

The period of snow and sleet is expected to be brief with precipitation changing to all freezing rain within 1 hour or 2 of inception.

Total snow and sleet accumulations are not expected to be more than about ½ inch. Freezing rain accretion will be the more significant problem with a layer of glaze forming one quarter to ½ inch thick.

As warmer air spreads north, precipitation type will transition to rain by late morning over the southern Iowa border, and as far north as Interstate 80 by early afternoon.

Significant icing will create very hazardous travel conditions during the day Saturday. In addition, a southeast wind gusting over 30 mph may down tree limbs and power lines that are weighed down by ice.

An Ice Storm Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of ice accumulations will make travel dangerous or impossible. Travel is strongly discouraged.

If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.

NWS forecasters said ice accumulations and winds would likely lead to snapped power lines and falling tree branches that add to the danger.


Energy Companies Staff Extra Repair Crews

MidAmerican Energy officials said that ice and wind are their biggest enemies.

The company is staffing crews around the clock to get ready for the storm.

The last big ice storm was on Feb. 24 and caused major power outages across central Iowa. MidAmerican officials said at the height of the storm it had more than 130,000 customers without power.

After that storm the company reviewed their procedures and did make some changes.

Spokesman Allan Urlis said MidAmerican has every crew on stand by.

MidAmerican has also contacted different utility companies across the state and asked them to be ready to help, if needed. The company has also brought in 60 workers from Missouri and Kansas to assist this weekend.

Urlis said the amount of wind of snow coupled with the freezing rain will determine how many outages are seen.

?It?s going to depend on the age of the infrastructure. We may have infrastructure that?s been damaged in previous storms and we don?t know about it and this amount of ice and wind could be enough for it to get broken,? Urlis said.

If you lose power this weekend, call MidAmerican's toll free number is 1-888-427-5632.

More News From KETV.com:

Teen Driver Hits Pedestrian

OPPD Braces For Ice

This weekend is not going to be pretty.

"It's going to be a mess," David Sheets, meteorologist in the National Weather Service's Quad Cities office, said Friday.

Although the Iowa City area received its first taste of snow right before Thanksgiving, "this one looks worse than that -- much worse," he said.

That's because a storm is heading from the Central Rockies, preceded by summer-type warm air and moisture coming over the current cold front. This could mean sleet, freezing rain and snow today and Sunday, he said.

"There's a potential for an ice storm," he said.

Ice accumulation potentially could be as much as half an inch.

Things will warm up a bit overnight tonight, turning it back to rain, but Sheets said the forecast shows the rain changing to snow Sunday before the storm leaves late in the day.

The worst travel conditions will be this afternoon, Sheets said, because not only will there be freezing snow or sleet but also winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 40 mph, conditions that might lead to downed power lines, he said.

This weekend's storm could be a reminder of the weather the area experienced Feb. 24, when icy and snowy conditions caused power outages for about 4,500 Iowa City and Coralville MidAmerican Energy customers and 225 Alliant Energy customers in North Liberty, Solon and Cedar County.

That ice storm downed power lines, poles and tree limbs throughout the area. The Johnson County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa State Patrol closed sections of Interstate 80 that day because of downed power lines on and along the roadway. Gov. Chet Culver issued an emergency declaration for 58 counties, including Johnson County, that night.

"It could be nearly as bad as February," Sheets said. "It has the potential. ... (But) probably right now, I would say not as bad as that."

For Sunday, the snowfall is expected to be less than an inch. It will be windy on Sunday as well, he said.

Flurries will end Sunday evening and the storm should be gone Sunday night.

On Monday, as most people head back to work, the skies should be clear with temperatures in the 20s -- "a day sort of like (Friday)," Sheets said.