National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
318 AM CDT Fri Oct 23 2020

Pottawattamie-Mills-Montgomery-Fremont-Page Counties…FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM CDT SATURDAY…

* WHAT…Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 23 to 25 expected.

* WHERE…Portions of east central and southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

* IMPACTS…Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly. Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above-ground pipes to protect them from freezing.

Pottawattamie-Mills-Montgomery-Fremont-Page Counties: A FREEZE WATCH WILL BE IN EFFECT FROM LATE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING.

Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 25 possible, over portions of east central and southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

* IMPACTS…Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly. Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above-ground pipes to protect them from freezing.

(Radio Iowa) – Despite the damp weather we’ve experienced over the past couple of days, open burning bans remain in effect for 18 Iowa counties. State Fire Marshal Dan Wood says that’s not common for this time of year. “Usually it’s less than that, but usually we’ve had more moisture where this year has just been very much a drought statewide,” he says. Burn bans are not issued by the State Fire Marshal’s office. Local fire chiefs and emergency managers in each county determine there’s an elevated fire risk and issue the ban on open burning in a county. The State Fire Marshal’s website lists the burn bans that are in effect.

Most of the 19 counties are in the western half of Iowa. “Having a very dry summer and now a very dry fall we’ve had a lot of counties go with these burn bans,” Wood says, “kind of sounding the alarm for the dangers of their being field fires.” A recent western Iowa field fire was one-and-a-half miles wide at one point. Fire officials advise farmers to have a disc nearby as combines roll through a field. If a fire is sparked, the disc can be used to turn over crop residue and create strips of soil to stop a fire from spreading. On a couple of days this fall, northwest Iowa farmers have been advised to halt the harvest due to high winds that could quickly spread a fire sparked by a combine.

In this area, counties with burn bans still in effect until further notice, include: Audubon, Cass, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, and Pottawattamie.

• KJAN, Atlantic  .03″
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  .11″
• Massena  .18″
• Anita  .03″
• Audubon  .17″
• Oakland  .05″
• Corning  .14″
• Neola  .1″
• Manning  .06″
• Red Oak  .09″

The National Weather Service has issued a Dense Fog Advisory in effect until 11-a.m. for the following area Counties: Cass-Adair-Adams-Dallas-Guthrie-Pottawattamie-Madison-Mills-Montgomery-Union-Fremont-Page-Taylor and Ringgold.

• Visibility in the fog will drop to one-quarter of a mile or less.
• If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you.

Adams-Union-Taylor-Ringgold-Mills-Montgomery-Fremont and Page Counties…

…DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CDT THIS MORNING…

* WHAT…Visibility less than one quarter mile in dense fog.

* IMPACTS…Hazardous driving conditions due to low visibility.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of
distance ahead of you.

A snow squall that passed through the central section of Iowa Monday morning, left anywhere from as little as one-tenth, to as much as nine inches of snow, catching motorists and others by surprise, and making for slippery, near white-out conditions. Here at KJAN in Atlantic, we picked up just one-tenth of an inch of snow that quickly melted.

Snowfall at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines (10-19-20)

I-80 near Altoona (IA DOT cam) 10-19-20

Elsewhere there was:

• .4″  4 miles s/sw of Brayton
• 3″   3 miles w of Magnolia
• 1″   in Logan
• 3.5″  near Little Sioux
• 3.8″  5 miles s. of Logan
• 4.5″  in Harlan
• 7″ in Guthrie Center
• 3″ in Panora
• 1″ in Bagley
• 5″   5 miles NW of Adel
• Grimes 6+”
• Ankeny 8″
• Polk City 9″

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A new report says damage estimates from a rare wind storm that slammed Iowa and some other parts of the Midwest in August are growing. The total is now $7.5 billion. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the Aug. 10 storm is currently the second-costliest U.S. disaster so far in 2020, although cost estimates for the widespread wildfires along the West Coast aren’t yet available.

The August storm hit Iowa hard but also caused damage in Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota and Indiana. The most expensive disaster so far this year was Hurricane Laura, which caused $14 billion in damage along the Gulf Coast.

Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Des Moines IA 405 AM CDT Sat Oct 17 2020

Sac-Crawford-Carroll-Audubon-Guthrie-Dallas-Cass-Adair-Madison-Adams-Union-Taylor-Ringgold Counties

…Gusty Winds and Elevated Fire Danger Today…

Winds will increase rapidly by mid morning across central and southeast Iowa with gusts of 40 mph or more expected before diminishing later this afternoon. Farther north and east wind
gusts of 20 to 30 mph will be common. These gusty winds will combine with warm temperatures, fairly low humidities, and drying grasses and crops to produce an elevated fire danger through this afternoon. Any fires that ignite could spread quickly under these conditions, especially across cropland. Burning is not recommended under these conditions. Burn bans are
in effect for multiple central Iowa counties.

Burn Bans continue until further notice, for: Adair-Audubon-Cass-Dallas-Guthrie-Harrison-Mills-Montgomery and Pottawattamie Counties.

Area Counties: Sac-Crawford-Carroll-Audubon-Guthrie-Dallas-Cass-Adair-Madison-Adams-Union-Taylor and Ringgold…

...Elevated Fire Danger Again Today…

Gusty west to northwest winds of 15 to 25 mph with wind gusts in excess of 40 mph will develop later this morning and persist through this evening. Relative humidity values will fall into the
25 to 35 percent range by this afternoon. These weather conditions combined with curing grasses and the crop harvest across the state will lead to an elevated fire danger today. Any fires that ignite could spread quickly under these conditions especially in cropland. Burning is not recommended under these conditions.