***OFFICIAL 2026 WEATHER THREAD***
- Thread starter nfrine
- Start date
I get the warnings and not recommending travel, but closing the interstates seems a little extreme to me from what I've seen. If somebody works at Mary Greeley and lives in Story City, was it really bad enough to prevent them from using the interstate to get to work?
Iowa DOT has changed their approach to closing interstates for this winter to a more predictive approach to try and lower crash numbers during those large events. I don't remember all of the data, but I know one example is that if there is a near-term prediction of 35+ mph winds and 6+ inches of snow you will essentially always see an interstate closure now. It's based on recent historical events and closure or large-scale crash instances and following what some surrounding states are doing. I don't know if I80 was closed based on this, but just a reason you will likely see more larger scale closures than we have in past years.
Every time the DOT closes a highway during winter weather, dozens of Jeep Grand Cherokees live to see another day. Think of the Grand Cherokees.
7° on a Monday & 82° on Saturday of the same week.
This is Iowa alright.
This is Iowa alright.
Who cares? People generally suck at driving and making driving decisions. Take that decision out of their hands.
Logistics schedules run tight in perfect weather. If you don't force semi trucks on 80 to park, they won't. They are the most dangerous aspect of interstate travel in bad weather, and I say that as someone thay has many experienced drivers to whom I would trust my life in any condition.
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As somone who works in insurance claims, I agree with this wholeheartedly.
While a closure can feel like an overreaction, the decision to shut down I-35 yesterday late afternoon was a smart strategic move to prevent a safety crisis as darkness was coming up. The geography of Ames north to the MN border is notoriously flat and open so even small snow amounts are blizzard-like at that point; visibility wasn't just low, it was non-existent. When you combine those whiteout conditions with the "flash freeze" from the earlier rain, the interstate essentially became a trap.
It's frustrating to have a commute blocked, but in those specific conditions, the highway becomes a graveyard for vehicles, and closing it is often the only way to keep the number of those stranded at zero or close to zero as possible.
We waited until today and are driving from KC to MPLS now. It was a bummer we had to delay our trip back home because of the roads....but I also didn't want to drive north, with my elderly parents, and get in that no-mans-land between Ames and Albert Lea and get stranded.
It's sunny but windy as hell now....but aren't to Ames yet.
Not everything is nonessential. Having I-80 closed until just an hour and a half ago was insane.
So use other roads
I saw 1 report yesderday that ISP didn't have enough officers to respond to all of the calls for service. One way to keep that problem from getting worse is to close the interstate. I think that was one reason among the others suggested here
I'm still in ORD. Going to see if the one scheduled to leave at 4:49 can make it or not
Wausau, WI up to 30 inches of snow as of earlier this morning with it still coming down.
