The Iowa Department of Transportation reported today (Friday) at 8-a.m.,  that travel conditions are slowly beginning to improve in the state. However, many roads remain completely or partially covered with snow and ice pack. Interstate 35 from Ames to Mason City, both north- and southbound, has been reopened.

Travelers are advised to check Iowa’s 511 travel information system before making their trip by calling 800-288-1047 nationwide or 511 within Iowa, or visiting http://www.511ia.org. Several additional options for mobile access, text and email, or information through Twitter or Facebook are described on this website. In  western and southwest Iowa, roads are still reported to be mostly covered with snow primarily north of Highway 34, while roads primarily south of Highway 34 were partially covered with snow.

Primary travel concerns this morning are focused in eastern Iowa.  Considerable blowing and drifting snow will continue to make travel hazardous in that part of the State until mid morning. Northwest winds in eastern Iowa, will be sustained at 20 to 30 mph, with some gusts near 40 mph. Visibility to one mile or less can be expected in open, rural areas.

Iowa DOT crews are out this morning trying to restore travel to normal winter driving conditions and open blocked roads as quickly as possible. Conditions should continue to improve throughout the day.

w/ Ric Hanson

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(AMES, Iowa – Dec. 21, 2012 7:02-a.m.): The Iowa Department of Transportation is reporting that Interstate 35 from Ames to Mason City, both northbound and southbound, is reopened to traffic. The gate system is currently being deactivated for both the mainline traffic and all entrance ramps.

Snow drifts, stalled vehicles and jackknifed semis have caused a few roads in the KJAN listening area to be partially or completely blocked. The Iowa Department of Transportation’s 511ia.org website reports Interstate 80 eastbound about five-miles east of Walnut, was partially blocked by an accident involving a semi. The left lane in that area was closed while crews worked to clear-up the scene.

And,the right lane of I-80 westbound near Walnut (between County Rd. M-47 and Exit 51)  was reported to be blocked earlier this morning, due to a jackknifed semi. In addition, the DOT says Highway 44 in Guthrie County, between Iowa Hwy 4 and US 169, remains closed due to snow drifts and stalled vehicles on the roadway. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reported the road was closed Thursday morning. It will remain closed until the road is cleared of snow and vehicles.

A reminder also, that Tow Bans are currently in effect for Cass, Guthrie and Pottawattamie Counties, until conditions on the roadways improve. Vehicles which slide off the road in those counties will not be towed until the restrictions are lifted.

Police in Red Oak say one person was arrested Thursday afternoon following an alleged assault. Officials say 24-year old Michael James Johnson, Jr., of Red Oak,  was taken into custody at around 3:15-p.m. in the 2300 block of Northeastern Avenue. Johnson was charged with Serious Assault. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Officers with the Red Oak P-D also arrested 29-year-old Gavin Lee Jackson-Weaver. He was taken into custody at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, on a Possession of Marijuana charge. Jackson-Weaver was being held in the Montgomery County jail on $2,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials say snow plow operators will be out this (Friday) morning continuing to clear roads affected by a major storm this week.  The state Department of Transportation says nearly 450 snow plows and other removal equipment is helping clear crash scenes and vehicles blocking roadways on the interstate system. The agency says travel is not expected to significantly improve until later today.

At least 80 crashes were reported Thursday throughout the state. Officials also say drivers on a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 80 were stuck Thursday night. A 25-car pileup on Interstate 35 in northern Iowa killed two people and injured seven.

A major snow storm hit most of Iowa Wednesday night into Thursday. The National Weather Service says more than a foot of snow hit the Des Moines area.

The first major winter storm of the season left a wide range of snowfall totals across Iowa. Harry Hillaker is the State Climatologist. He says the heaviest snow, 13.8 inches, fell at the National Weather Service office in Johnston. Marshalltown reported 13 inches of snow, while the Des Moines Airport recorded 12.4 inches. Areas of northeast Iowa are also reporting high snowfall totals with 10 inches in Waterloo and up to 11 inches in Dubuque. Meanwhile, many areas of far northwest and southeast Iowa received just 1 to 3 inches snow. Hillaker says this blizzard may be the biggest winter storm to hit Iowa since December 8-9, 2009 — although that event was more widespread.

“A larger area of heavy snow occurred with that December 2009 storm,” Hillaker said. “We had a statewide average of 10.3 inches of snowfall. This current storm will probably end up being around 6 to 6.5 inches for a statewide average.” This storm, like the one in 2009, included high winds that helped knocked out power to tens-of-thousands of Iowans. The National Weather Service reported winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour across much of the state Thursday, with a 60 mile per hour wind gust recorded in Ottumwa. This blizzard could also be compared to a massive winter storm that blanketed Iowa in early January 1996 when nearly 14 inches of snow fell in Des Moines. Hillaker notes there was already a lot of snow on the ground when that storm hit.

“And it was a much colder storm. Temperatures were in the teens when the snow started, so it was a very dry, fluffy snow that drifted very badly compared with this current event as temperatures were near freezing and the snow was a bit stickier,” Hillaker said. The snow that’s on the ground across Iowa won’t be melting anytime soon as high temperatures are expected in the teens to low 30s over the next several days. The next chance for snow arrives early next week, including Christmas Day.
………..
Other snowfall totals for Thursday:

Atlantic: 7.0 inches

Audubon: 7 inches
Carroll: 6 inches
Clarinda: 2.5 inches
Creston: 5.5 inches
Denison: 8 inches

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa State Patrol reports two Nebraska men were injured during an accident Thursday afternoon in Pottawattamie County. Officials say the driver of the 2007 Mistubishi truck, 26-year old Miles Pappan, and his passenger, 25-year old Frank King, Jr., both of Omaha, were transported by Underwood Rescue to Mercy Hospital following the crash, which happened on Interstate 80, at around 2:35-p.m.

The Patrol says the truck was traveling westbound about six-miles south of the Underwood exit, went it went out of control on the ice-covered road. The vehicle spun-out into the median and rolled onto its right side.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new survey of rural bankers shows that rising commodity prices and lower energy costs are helping businesses in Midwestern states and the northern Plains. The Rural Mainstreet Index released Thursday climbed in December, the fourth straight month of growth. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey from Omaha, Nebraska says the reading is the healthiest recorded since June 2007. The survey showed increases in bank borrowing to purchase farmland and equipment, and rising farmland prices. The December hiring index rose half a point, to 53.5. The home-sales index slipped in December, to 61.3 from November’s 62.0.

The index ranges from 0 to 100, with 50 representing “growth neutral.” It’s based on a survey of rural bankers in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota.