Winter Storm Warning Continues Through Early Sunday

Update 7:20 pm

Snow continues to fall across eastern Iowa. It will be tapering off as we head into the overnight and early Sunday morning. The winds will be the bigger story tonight into the overnight, with wind gusts around 45 mph possible – that will likely lead to blowing and drifting snow, along with greatly reduced visibilities.

Road conditions are deteriorating across eastern Iowa. The Iowa DOT reports major roads across eastern Iowa as completely covered with snow. Travel is not advised on the majority of Dubuque County’s roads, including Highway 20 from Peosta to Dubuque, Highway 151 from Cascade to Dubuque and Highway 3 from east of Holy Cross to Sageville. Stay up to date with road conditions at 511ia.org.

Original story 9:30 am

We’re jumping right into winter this year, with the first snowstorm of the season hitting earlier than usual.

The National Weather Service says 8 to 12 inches of snow is possible across eastern Iowa, with a Winter Storm Warning continuing through Sunday morning. Some isolated snow amounts of up to 14 inches are possible. The snow started late Friday night and is expected to taper off in the early morning hours on Sunday.

Strong northwest winds will move in overnight into Sunday morning, gusting between 30 to 40 mph at times. This may lead to some blowing and drifting snow on north/south oriented roads and in open rural areas.

The Iowa State Patrol says travel will be difficult to impossible much of this weekend. The National Weather Service says everyone should consider delaying travel and recommends taking along water, food and an emergency kit (with tire chains, flashlight, shovel, booster cables, blanket and extra clothing) if you must travel today. The Iowa DOT says if you are driving, please slow down and take your time to get to your destination.

As of Saturday morning, the major roads across eastern Iowa were reported by the Iowa DOT as completely-covered with snow. You can stay up to date with road conditions at 511ia.org.

Several weather-related announcements have been shared with KMCH, including snow emergencies, closures and cancellations. Stay up to date with the complete list at kmch.com.

images courtesy of NWS