Official Winter Storm Thread for 12/21 - 12/26

[cyrocksmypants]

Can someone give a little update?

I'll be driving from Indianapolis to Mason City tomorrow. That's 80, to 380 through Cedar Rapids to 27 (I think) through Waterloo/Cedar Falls/Avenue of the Saints.

I'll be leaving about noon eastern time and it's about an 8 hour trip in good weather. Can anyone give an educated guess on what I'll be seeing?

 

[simply1]

Ed Wilson just stated Mason City area is a death zone right now, a death zone...

 

[simply1]

I don't know what tomorrow will hold specifically, but travel is not advised in the MC area and there are a ton of cars off the road apparently.

 

[cyrocksmypants]

Awesome! Sounds like a normally 8 hour trip is going to turn in to a 13 hour trip!

 

[bawbie]

Can someone give a little update?

I'll be driving from Indianapolis to Mason City tomorrow. That's 80, to 380 through Cedar Rapids to 27 (I think) through Waterloo/Cedar Falls/Avenue of the Saints.

I'll be leaving about noon eastern time and it's about an 8 hour trip in good weather. Can anyone give an educated guess on what I'll be seeing?

Lots of rain, probably all the way to Waterloo.

Waterloo to Mason City will be tricky, as that stretch isn't supposed to change over to all rain tomorrow, so it'll likely be all snow or a rain/sleet/snow mix. That stretch of road is "travel not advised" on the Iowa DOT site today because of snow and ice, and I'm not sure it'll be better by tomorrow afternoon.

 

[fccy]

Can someone give a little update?

I'll be driving from Indianapolis to Mason City tomorrow. That's 80, to 380 through Cedar Rapids to 27 (I think) through Waterloo/Cedar Falls/Avenue of the Saints.

I'll be leaving about noon eastern time and it's about an 8 hour trip in good weather. Can anyone give an educated guess on what I'll be seeing?

Was just going to post this anyways. NWS forecast for Forest City:

3-5 inches possible tonight, 1-3 inches possible tomorrow, 5-9 inches possible tomorrow night. The weather will get worse the closer to Mason City you get. And I do agree that the roads are bad, and that was just in town. Someone called me about bowling tonight (we cancelled), said he was driving 40mph on US 69 towards Garner. That was 4pm.

Forest City is 30 miles NW of Mason City.

 

[cyrocksmypants]

I'll be making the drive regardless. I remember driving back to Indy in Feb. Of 08 with the bad ice storms. Had to drive 30 mph from Mason City to Iowa City. Horrible drive.

It's just nice to know where to expect more icy conditions than in other places.

 

[fccy]

I'll be making the drive regardless. I remember driving back to Indy in Feb. Of 08 with the bad ice storms. Had to drive 30 mph from Mason City to Iowa City. Horrible drive.

I drove the opposite way on that Monday; that was awful.

 

[cyrocksmypants]

I drove the opposite way on that Monday; that was awful.

The craziest thing was, as soon as I crossed the Mississippi, there was barely even any snow on the ground in Illinois.

 

[cyinne]

* IMPACTS...TRAVEL WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT IN THE
WARNING AREA OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS AND WILL LIKELY BE
IMPOSSIBLE BY FRIDAY AS SNOW ACCUMULATES AND WINDS INCREASE.
WITH AROUND OF FOOT OF SNOW ALREADY ON THE GROUND IN PARTS OF
NORTHWEST IOWA...SNOW DEPTHS MAY REACH TWO TO THREE FEET BY
THE WEEKEND WITH DRIFTS REACHING ROOFTOPS OF HOUSES.

From the NOAA website for the WSW in Iowa. Updated 7:27PM.

 

[TarHeelHawk]

* IMPACTS...TRAVEL WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT IN THE
WARNING AREA OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS AND WILL LIKELY BE
IMPOSSIBLE BY FRIDAY AS SNOW ACCUMULATES AND WINDS INCREASE.
WITH AROUND OF FOOT OF SNOW ALREADY ON THE GROUND IN PARTS OF
NORTHWEST IOWA...SNOW DEPTHS MAY REACH TWO TO THREE FEET BY
THE WEEKEND WITH DRIFTS REACHING ROOFTOPS OF HOUSES.

From the NOAA website for the WSW in Iowa. Updated 7:27PM.

Jeebus.:wideeyed:

For a good idea of where this storm is, click on the Iowa Road Conditions link...North of 20 is a mess, while South seems to be just fine.

http://www.iowaroadconditions.org/roadConditions.asp?area=IA_statewide&textOnly=False

 

[cyinne]

THE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE AFTER SUNSET ON CHRISTMAS
EVE...AND REMAIN BRISK THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS ON
CHRISTMAS DAY. WHILE THE WINDS IN THIS AREA ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE
STRONG ENOUGH TO POSE A RISK TO HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES...LOW
FLYING SLEIGHS COULD HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH SMOOTH LANDINGS DURING
THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.

Thought I'd share- found this elsewhere. I thought it was kinda funny- this is an actual excerpt from a "Special Weather Statement" out of Louisville, Kent.

 

[clone52]

Jeebus.:wideeyed:

For a good idea of where this storm is, click on the Iowa Road Conditions link...North of 20 is a mess, while South seems to be just fine.

Iowa DOT Travel Information Service

doesn't look great from 30 to 20 either.

 

[CyPride]

* IMPACTS...TRAVEL WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT IN THE
WARNING AREA OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS AND WILL LIKELY BE
IMPOSSIBLE BY FRIDAY AS SNOW ACCUMULATES AND WINDS INCREASE.
WITH AROUND OF FOOT OF SNOW ALREADY ON THE GROUND IN PARTS OF
NORTHWEST IOWA...SNOW DEPTHS MAY REACH TWO TO THREE FEET BY
THE WEEKEND WITH DRIFTS REACHING ROOFTOPS OF HOUSES.

From the NOAA website for the WSW in Iowa. Updated 7:27PM.

WOW!!

 

[Iastfan112]

I can back up the statement that roads north of 20 are bad. Just got back from an extended family Christmas and roads are snow/ice/slush covered and quite slick.

 

[TarHeelHawk]

So much for going up to Emmetsburg to pick up my grandmother tomorrow or Friday.

 

[CraigSimpson]

I'm a Cyclone fan in Minnesota. We're trying to get to Des Moines to pickup my Sister-In-Law and her husband and then drive to the Insigh Bowl. This weather is making the whole trip look a little iffy.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

I can't believe the number of people driving regardless of the forecast. Don't you realize your family would rather you stay home than spend Christmas Eve freezing in a ditch? The whole midwest is a mess. The parts that aren't a mess will be so in the next 24-48 hours. Why risk it?

 

[cyrocksmypants]

Here's my trick to driving in bad weather. I'll tell you guys, but you've got to swear to keep it a secret...

You drive slow.

That's it. You don't have to drive the speed of everyone else. If you must, you can to to the right lane with your hazards on to show people that you're driving slow.

There you go, but be very quiet about it!

 

[Iastfan112]

DMX Weather Story Display

Well thats a bit more aggressive than I thought they'd be.