AMES, Iowa – Feb 1, 2015 – Most of Iowa’s roads are completely or partially covered with snow and ice with travel not advised in portions of Eastern Iowa.

I 80 W Mile Marker 70. IA DOT Snowplow View 5:14-pm 2/1/15

Windy conditions with continued snowfall are expected through the evening hours causing hazardous driving conditions. The Iowa Department of Transportation is working to clear roads, but blowing snow can cause roadways to quickly become re-covered after trucks pass through. Visibility can also be greatly reduced due to blowing snow.

Iowa DOT reminds travelers that trips during severe winter weather can take three or four times longer than normal. Motorists are urged to monitor weather and road conditions before traveling and evaluate the necessity of trips. Often, the safest option is to skip the trip altogether. For road condition information visit the Iowa 511 website at http://511ia.org or call 511 within Iowa, or 800-288-1047 from outside the state. Tow ban information can be found on the full-featured version of the website.

Hwy 83 eastbound at mm 31 (2/1/15)

To see photos of conditions on the roadway from the dash of an Iowa DOT snowplow truck or plow locations visit http://trackaplow.iowadot.gov.

Winds have been picking up this morning across western Iowa, causing blowing and drifting of snow. The Iowa DOT’s website at 511ia.org reports all roadways are 100-percent snow and/or ice covered. Travel is not advised.

I-80 eastbound at Exit 57

I-80 westbound at Exit 57

I-80 westbound at the 53 mile marker

I-80 westbound at the 46-mile marker

Iowa State Patrol Trooper Wayne Brosam sent KJAN some pictures he took of the roadways as of 8:30-a.m. today.

858 AM CST SUN FEB 1 2015

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CST THIS EVENING.

* SHORT TERM TRENDS…WIDESPREAD LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW WILL CONTINUE WITH STEADILY INCREASING WINDS ACROSS NORTHERN AND WESTERN IOWA. WINDS WILL INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON REGIONWIDE.

* STORM TOTAL SNOW…ACCUMULATIONS OF GENERALLY 8 TO 12 INCHES.  SOME LOCATIONS WILL RECEIVE OVER A FOOT OF SNOW.

* WINDS/VISIBILITY…NORTHEAST WINDS GRADUALLY INCREASING AND BECOMING NORTHERLY BY AFTERNOON. GUSTS INCREASING TO 35 TO 40 MPH OVER WESTERN AND NORTHERN IOWA BY MIDDAY AND OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA BY EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL REMAIN STRONG THROUGH EARLY EVENING.

* TEMPERATURES…TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO FALL THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS INTO THE LOWER TO MID TEENS BY EVENING. ALONG WITH THAT WIND CHILL VALUES WILL DROP TO 5 TO 10 BELOW ZERO OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF IOWA AND JUST BELOW ZERO OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN IOWA BY LATE AFTERNOON.

* IMPACTS…ROADS WILL REMAIN SNOW COVERED AND SLICK WITH HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL BECOME MORE SIGNIFICANT THROUGH THE DAY. VISIBILITIES WILL OFTEN BE BELOW A MILE WITH NEAR WHITEOUT CONDITIONS POSSIBLE AT TIMES…ESPECIALLY IN OPEN AND RURAL AREAS. THE HEAVY WET NATURE OF THE SNOW HAS ALSO COATED TREES OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN IOWA. TREE DAMAGE AND LOCALIZED POWER OUTAGES MAY BECOME MORE LIKELY AS THE WINDS INCREASE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.

The National Weather Service says “A significant winter storm” will affect the region today and into tonight. A Winter Storm Warning continues until 9-p.m. today (Sunday). Heavy snow will continue to fall across much of Iowa and winds will increase, causing blowing snow and drifting snow that will make travel even more hazardous. The snow will finally end with diminishing winds late this evening. As of 7-a.m. in Atlantic, we had received 5.8-inches of snow, which melted into just over six-tenths of an inch of liquid precipitation. Massena had 6-inches of snow over the same 24-hour period ending at 7-am.

Other snowfall reports as of include: 6.9 inches in Oakland (8:30-a.m) 7 inches in Audubon, Carroll and Guthrie Center; 5.4 inches in Adair; 9.8 inches in Waukee and 7.9 inches in Ames and 7.3 inches in Des Moines.

As of 8-a.m., roads were 100-percent snow and ice covered in the KJAN listening area, and many churches had cancelled services for today. Towing services are prohibited in Cass, Adair, Pottawattamie, Mills and Fremont Counties.

Additional snowfalls will be possible in the coming days, especially from Tuesday into Wednesday when some accumulations are expected. Temperatures will be quite a bit colder for most of next week with the fresh deep snow cover in place. The coldest temperatures will come tonight into Monday morning and again from Wednesday night into Thursday morning.