Arctic Air & Snow Depth Wrap-Up

The blizzard has came to an end across the plains, with many areas are finishing the digging out process today under clear skies and calmer winds.  Storm totals for the state of Iowa were featured in the previous post and final update on the winter storm of Dec. 7 and 8.  As for a wider view of the plains, the attached image below shows the satellite estimated snow depth for the plains as of this morning.  Keep in mind this is an estimate taken by satellite with the aid of more localized observations, thus isolated higher amounts may be missed.  You can really see where the path of the storm dropped the heaviest amounts, and also see some of the lake effect snow that occurred over the UP of Michigan and extreme northern Wisconsin.

With the passing of this system, we are now left under a very cold arctic high pressure system leaving temperatures well below average across much of the plains.  Looking at the state of Iowa for the next few days we'll see a steady increase in the temperatures, however, nothing that will begin to melt any of the snow that we've received thus far this season.  Overnight lows tonight with range from the mid-single digits below zero in the northwest to the mid-single digits above zero in the southeast.  Friday's highs will range from the teens to lower 20s from north to south, with overnight lows in the single digits in the west and south and the single digits below zero in the northeast.  Weekend highs in the 10-20 degree range from northwest to southeast, with overnight lows in the teens to lower 20s.  There is a slight chance of a few snow showers/flurries and even a mix of sleet for Saturday night through Sunday night across the state.  No accumulations are expected...