Looks like it was a good thing schools closed. Would have been out in some nasty conditions.
Yes, still silly.
I left for work at about 7am, after it had really started coming down, roads were getting slick but more slushy than packed snow. Made my 17 mile commute from Waukee to downtown in about 45 minutes, 10-15 minutes longer than usual but cruised along 235 at a leisurely 30-35mph. It was a nice easy trip in and no one else around me seemed to be fighting to remain in control of their vehicles.
Then, sitting in my office I see that everything is clearing up by around 10-11am or so, including the roads which were nothing more than wet with a bit of slush at that time.
Rural schools are a different story but there wasn't much of a reason to call off the metro schools today. I mean, we're in Iowa....we're prepared for this kind of stuff.
Meteorology is a tough job, and I think the local guys here do a great job with it. Things change in the atmosphere and it's really tough to predict, even with all of the technology available. I just think the school administrators should slow their roll a bit when making these decisions as it affects a lot of things downstream from them. But I also know that the litigious environment we live it now probably dictates a lot of the overreaction.