Most of Iowa (areas in pink) will be under Winter Storm Warning WednesdayPhoto: National Weather Service-Des Moines
(Des Moines, IA) -- The National Weather Service has issued Winter Storm Warnings for most of Iowa due to a winter storm that's expected to affect much of Iowa and the Midwest, starting Wednesday and lasting through the end of the week. Snow will begin north and west Wednesday afternoon and then progress into the remainder of the area into the night and Thursday.
Forecasters expect strong winds Thursday and Friday, gusting 40 to 50 mph, resulting in widespread blowing and drifting snow, with blizzard conditions likely. The strong winds will also drive wind chills into the 20 to 40 below zero range through at least Friday night. The combination of near-white out conditions, strong winds, and extreme cold and wind chills concurrently will result in very dangerous travel conditions not to be taken lightly.
Timing for wind chills and the stronger wind speeds can be found in the images below. Snow amounts will be fairly uniform area wide, likely 4 inches or more in most spots, but the strong winds will result in big differences place to place due to drifting.
Photo: National Weather Service-Des Moines
A large part of northern and central Iowa will go under a Winter Storm Warning starting at noon Wednesday. The warning is expected to remain in place unto 6 a.m. Counties included in the warning are: Emmet, Kossuth, Winnebago, Worth, Palo Alto, Hancock, Cerro Gordo, Pocahontas, Humboldt, Wright, Franklin, Sac, Calhoun, Webster, Hamilton, Hardin, Crawford, Carroll, Greene, Boone, Story, Audubon, Guthrie Dallas, Cass, Adair, and Adams.
A Winter Storm Warning will be in effect from 6 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Saturday for the following counties. Butler, Bremer, Grundy, Black Hawk, Marshall, Tama, Polk, Jasper, Poweshiek, Madison, Warren, Marion, Mahaska, Union, Clarke, Lucas, Monroe, Wapello, Taylor, Ringgold, Decatur, Wayne, Appanoose, and Davis.