Winter Storm: Dec. 21-22

Portions of the state are going to be in for a nice winter storm that will effect a lot of their weekend travel. The storm system that has been talked about since the beginning of the week has finally came into focus, providing a forecast that puts portions of the eastern third of the state under a half foot of snow! Other areas of the state are going to see general amounts of snow in the 1-3 inch range.

A low pressure system is likely to develop along the IA/MO borders late tonight and continue to strengthen as it moves northeastward towards the Great Lakes area. This low will setup a strong pressure gradient and thus some fairly gusty winds over much of the state tomorrow. This wind will be accompanied by moderate to heavy snow over central and eastern Iowa, light to moderate snow over western Iowa. All portions of the state may see some hazardous driving conditions when under the snow showers as wind gusts are likely to blow the snow around quite easily during and after its' fallen. Eastern Iowa will see the heaviest snow bands as it remains within the lows' deformation zone, allowing for slow moving bands of heavy snow. Total accumulations in the 4-8 inch range are going to be possible, with some locally higher amounts not out of the question in eastern Iowa.

Central Iowa will likely be within a 2-5 inch range of snowfall and western Iowa within a 1-3 inch range of snowfall with areas along the Missouri seeing under an inch in some locations. Where snow does occur expect some slow travel as mentioned the winds will provide some blowing and drifting snow to occur. Currently only winter storm watches have been issued for portions of central/eastern Iowa, expect those to be upgraded later this afternoon. The latest weather story from Des Moines gives a rough estimate of snowfall forecasted: