Many cell phone users in Iowa received a rude awakening early this (Wednesday) morning. The first official Wireless Emergency Alert was issued in our area, warning residents about a Blizzard Warning….that goes into effect at 6-p.m.  Customers of Verizon Wireless may have heard three short blasts at around 4-a.m., representing the Emergency Alert System. Some customers of U-S Cellular in the area report they received neither the alert tones nor text message informing them about the alert.

You may recall we told you back in June, that officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced the agency was providing additional tools for federal, state, local officials and others, to alert and warn the public about severe weather.

The Commercial Mobile Alert System, or CMAS, is being used to deliver Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to wireless carriers for distribution to the public. That means your cell phone will receive messages on its screen, similar to a text message, showing the type and time of the alert, along with what type of action will be taken. The alerts will NOT take the place of locations where CODE RED alert systems are in-place, as those systems also handle a wide variety of local emergency situations.

The message will be no more than 90 characters, and will have a unique tone and vibration, indicating a WEA has been received. If an alert is received by your cell phone, you are advised to follow the instructions and seek additional information from local radio, television, NOAA Weather Radio and other official sources for emergency information.

The alerts will be broadcast by cell towers. Any cell phone within range of those specific towers will immediately pick up the signal, provided they are capable of receiving the alerts. The availability of WEA alerts is dependent on the network status of the wireless carriers and handset availability, since not all cell phones receive WEA’s. Check with your cellular carrier to see if WEA alerts are available in your area.

FEMA says as with all new cellular services, it will take time for upgrades in infrastructure, coverage and handset technology, to allow WEA alerts to reach all cellular customers.

Snow plow drivers will be busy over the next couple days with the first major winter storm of the season bearing down on Iowa. Annette Dunn is Winter Operations Manager with the Iowa Department of Transportation. “We have about 900 trucks available and although I don’t think we’ll need them for this winter storm, we do also have snow blowers,” Dunn said. “All of our salt sheds are full at this point statewide and we are ready to go.”

The forecast calls for heavy snow at times and near-blizzard condition across much of the state today into tomorrow. Dunn is advising motorists not to “crowd the plow” and simply slow down when they see any of the DOT’s bright orange vehicles. “Especially with this storm that we have coming, there’s probably going to be some visibility issues and there’s not a snow plow in the world that can help us with visibility issues,” Dunn said. “And you may approach a snow plow very quickly since they’ll be going only about 25 to 40 miles an hour.”

Snow plow operators didn’t log many hours last year thanks to one of the mildest winters in the state’s history. Dunn says DOT workers have still been busy. “We’re are actually out there dealing with frost and trying to prevent frost, so we are using material and staff time,” Dunn said. “The nice weather has allowed us to shift our resources over to some of the maintenance we need to do on roadway system.”

Dunn is reminding motorists, if they must travel in foul weather, to keep the gas tank nearly full, pack an emergency survival kit and carry a fully charged cell phone. Items in the winter survival kit in your vehicle should include booster cables, candles and matches, a flashlight with fresh batteries, extra blankets and warm clothes, nonperishable food items, a can for melting water, and a snow shovel. Motorists can check winter road conditions in Iowa at www.511ia.org or by calling 5-1-1.

(Radio Iowa)

CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS- ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR & RINGGOLD COUNTIES….358 AM CST WED DEC 19 2012
…BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON CST THURSDAY……WINTER STORM WARNING IS CANCELLED…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON CST THURSDAY. THE WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

PRECIPITATION WILL OVERSPREAD WESTERN IOWA LATE THIS AFTERNOON. SNOW IS EXPECTED ALONG AND NORTH OF AN ATLANTIC THROUGH JEFFERSON LINE. RAIN IS EXPECTED IN SOUTHERN IOWA SOUTH OF A BEDFORD TO OSCEOLA LINE. IN BETWEEN…A RAIN AND SNOW MIX IS EXPECTED. THIS PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE TO ALL SNOW THIS EVENING BEFORE ENDING THURSDAY MORNING.

6 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW ARE FORECAST BY THURSDAY MORNING. THE HEAVIEST SNOW AXIS WILL BE ALONG A LINE FROM ATLANTIC TO ADEL. THE LOWEST AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED NEAR THE MISSOURI BORDER. SNOW DRIFTS SEVERAL FEET DEEP WILL BE POSSIBLE GIVEN THE STRONG WINDS.

WINDS WILL BECOME VERY STRONG LATE TONIGHT FROM THE NORTH NORTHWEST. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH GUSTS OVER 45 MPH POSSIBLE. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED A FROM MIDNIGHT THROUGH NOON THURSDAY. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AT TIMES WITH VISIBILITY REDUCED BELOW ONE QUARTER OF A MILE.
VERY DANGEROUS CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING. BE PREPARED FOR VERY DANGEROUS TRAVEL AND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS. IN RURAL AREAS ESPECIALLY…ONLY TRAVEL IF YOU MUST…OTHERWISE STAY SAFE AND STAY HOME.

MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT & PAGE COUNTIES...339 AM CST WED DEC 19 2012
…WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS  AFTERNOON TO 6 AM CST THURSDAY...

LIGHT SNOW WILL SPREAD INTO THE AREA BY MID AFTERNOON…THEN BECOME MODERATE TO HEAVY BY LATE AFTERNOON INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SNOW WILL BE DECREASING LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT BUT STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO THURSDAY MORNING. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 9 INCHES ARE LIKELY. LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE.
NORTHEAST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 15 TO 25 MPH BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. NORTH WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH AND GUSTS TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING. WINDS WILL SLOWLY DECREASE LATER THURSDAY MORNING.

THE COMBINATION OF HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. THIS WILL CAUSE LOW VISIBILITIES FROM LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. WHITE-OUT CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN SOME LOCATIONS.