Ice Storm Warning Issued For Parts of Iowa

The National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning for parts of central and northeast Iowa from 6AM Wednesday through noon Thursday. During this timeframe, significant icing is expected.

Precipitation will spread from south to north during the morning hours on Wednesday. Most of the icing will occur after 9 AM and will continue through the afternoon hours. The further north you get in Iowa, the freezing rain will begin to mix with sleet and snow. Locations like Carroll, Storm Lake, Fort Dodge and Hampton will see this wintry mix of ice, sleet, and snow. Along and south of Interstate 80, precipitation should stay in the form of rain.

Ice accumulations will range from one-tenth to four-tenths of an inch. Winds will gust as high as 45-mph. Power outages and tree damage are likely due to the ice and wind. Travel could be nearly impossible, and will be strongly discourage. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.

Snowfall accumulations across northwest Iowa will range from 5 to 11 inches, with the higher end of that range occurring closer to extreme northwest Iowa, near the Iowa/Minnesota border. This area is under a winter storm warning due to the heavy snow. In addition, there are a couple of counties in northwest Iowa under a blizzard warning due to the strong winds which will cause blowing snow.

For the latest winter storm updates, be sure to have our free weather app installed to your mobile device. It will send you push notification alerts for the latest advisories and warnings. In addition, you can check the future hour-by-hour weather radar to see the latest timing.