DES MOINES, Iowa - We'll need salt and sand, then umbrellas, and finally our snowblowers to get through this Iowa weekend.
Phase 1 of a very potent storm system will bring a round of freezing drizzle to central and northern Iowa this evening through Saturday morning.
Ice accumulation of up to one tenth of an inch is expected. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for the central section of Iowa. This will likely make for difficult travel this evening through Saturday Morning.
The Des Moines metro area just misses the Winter Weather Advisory, but Ames, Marshalltown, and Cedar Rapids are included.
Phase 2 is the transition to snow across western Iowa by late Saturday afternoon, then spreading east into central Iowa during the evening.
The axis of heaviest snowfall will reside within a likely tight band bisecting the state from southwest to northeast, where the potential exists for 8”+ in some areas. High uncertainty remains with the eastern extent of the heaviest snowfall! Significant travel problems may develop as strengthening northwest winds create areas of blowing and drifting snow, especially in areas that see the heaviest snowfall.
In the phase of our weekend weather blast, the Des Moines metro area, Ames, Marshalltown, and Waterloo are in an area that the National Weather Service says is questionable for possible heavy snow. West of that area, Fort Dodge and Mason City are in line for 6-8 inches of snow. East of the questionable area, Ottumwa, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, and Dubuque are expected to get less than an inch.