Winter Storm: Dec. 8-9

Winter Storm Recap: Mixture of snow with some freezing drizzle over southern Iowa occurred on Saturday and into early Sunday for portions of eastern Iowa. Snow amounts were heaviest over northwest Iowa and gradually got lighter the further south you went. Looking over the reports on CoCoRaHS from Iowa, the highest report of snowfall came from my house! 5.5 inches of new snow fell on the ground, on top of ~3 inches that was already on the ground making for a nice 8.5 to 9 inch snowpack now on the ground in northwest Iowa. Iowa co-op observers go along with this location of heaviest snow, Sanborn observer reporting 6 inches of new snow. Here are a few maps of the reports:




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6:30 PM Update: Snow has been falling over much of the state this morning and afternoon, some hazardous conditions are being noted on the roadways where snow has covered the roads and in some cases a mix of freezing rain or sleet has also occurred. North of highway 30 and west of a Waterloo to Mason City line is still under a Snow Advisory as 3-5 inches of snow are likely to fall by the end of the storm tonight. South of highway 30 throughout the state is a Winter Weather Advisory, areas may see freezing drizzle, sleet as well as the snow. Thus total snow accumulations are only expected to be 1-3 inches. The extreme southeast corner of the state actually has a Freezing Rain Advisory, where a tenth to a quarter of an inch of ice may accumulate.

For the latest reports on snowfall from throughout the state, please click on the local storm report links to the right of the post.

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Haven't had a lot of time and thus won't be able to do the complete forecast for this event like I had hoped for. Nonetheless, want to let people know about the upcoming winter storm that will likely effect much of the state, areas of western Iowa have already been put under winter weather advisories, snow advisories and even heavy snow warnings around the Sioux City area where up to 8 inches of snow may fall through Sunday. For the latest watches/warnings that have been issued visit the Des Moines NWS Severe Weather page and click on respective county or any other option. Possible updates later on tomorrow evening may be possible...

It is finals week next week down here at Iowa State, thus updates may cease for a while as I prepare for those. Wish me luck!