Commute a little slick, big blow to come

Roads are becoming increasingly snow-packed as a winter storm bears down on Eastern Iowa.

Both Johnson and Linn counties are following their winter procedures: Plows off the road at 6 p.m., with crews ready to return at 4 a.m.

In Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, where many streets are protected from the wind's worst effects, street clearing continued throughout the day, with overnight crews scheduled to report at 9 p.m.

“If people could have any obstacles out of the way for us, that would sure help,” said John Sobaski, Iowa City assistant streets superintendent. “We anticipate problems in the outlying areas and roads, some of those that are more prone to drifting. It would be very wise for people to change their plans and stay off the streets.”

By 3 p.m., all of Iowa was under a winter storm warning, to be replaced at midnight by a blizzard warning.

The National Weather Service statement warned it's been about a decade since a snow of this magnitude was expected, and “it has probably been 20 to 30 years since the impacts of a winter storm of this strength have been seen in the area.”

“What we're trying to indicate is just the transition from a pure heavy snow event to one that will have pure greater impact, which is the wind blowing around the snow,” said Andy Ervin, weather service meteorologist at the Quad Cities office.

Temperatures are expected to slide to the single digits below zero Wednesday night.

Ervin said most of the region stands to receive 6 to 12 inches of snow, but “by about 8:00 in the morning no one will have any method of measuring that because it's going to be blowing around.”

High winds will likely complicate, perhaps stall completely, efforts to remove the overnight accumulation, said Kevin Hackathorn of the Johnson County road maintenance department.

“We'll determine if it's safe for them to go out,” he said. “I'll just wait until it's safe. It does us no good to have snow plows in the ditch.

“If it's going to do what they're talking about doing, there's no sense getting in a big hurry, because nobody's going anywhere anyway,” he said.

Area grocery stores experienced the usual pre-storm business, with staples such as bread and milk the most popular buys.

“Milk and bananas and bread,” said Jim Lingo, store director at Hy-Vee Foods' store on Collins Road NE. “A lot of snow melt and a lot of shovels. We're seeing people buy a lot of baking goods now. People are thinking they're going to be stuck for a few days, so they're going to do their holiday baking.”

“Just all of the staples,” said Jason Thrasher, manager of the New Pioneer Cooperative in Iowa City. “Really basic items like milk and bread and cheese. Maybe a little more wine than I would expect for a typical Tuesday.”

The region's utility companies, already completed with their seasonal preparations, spent Monday and Tuesday reviewing plans and supplies.

“They're making sure we've got the winter gear ready and our supply sources are ready,” said Ryan Stensland, spokesman for Alliant Energy. “Fortunately, they're not talking about a lot of ice, and ice is the worst that could happen to us.”

“It's just wait and see at this point,” said Ann Thelen, spokeswoman for MidAmerican Energy.

[imagebrowser id=88]

Roads are becoming increasingly snow-packed as a winter storm bears down on Eastern Iowa.

Both Johnson and Linn counties are following their winter procedures: Plows off the road at 6 p.m., with crews ready to return at 4 a.m.

In Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, where many streets are protected from the wind's worst effects, street clearing continued throughout the day, with overnight crews scheduled to report at 9 p.m.

“If people could have any obstacles out of the way for us, that would sure help,” said John Sobaski, Iowa City assistant streets superintendent. “We anticipate problems in the outlying areas and roads, some of those that are more prone to drifting. It would be very wise for people to change their plans and stay off the streets.”

By 3 p.m., all of Iowa was under a winter storm warning, to be replaced at midnight by a blizzard warning.

The National Weather Service statement warned it's been about a decade since a snow of this magnitude was expected, and “it has probably been 20 to 30 years since the impacts of a winter storm of this strength have been seen in the area.”

“What we're trying to indicate is just the transition from a pure heavy snow event to one that will have pure greater impact, which is the wind blowing around the snow,” said Andy Ervin, weather service meteorologist at the Quad Cities office.

Temperatures are expected to slide to the single digits below zero Wednesday night.

Ervin said most of the region stands to receive 6 to 12 inches of snow, but “by about 8:00 in the morning no one will have any method of measuring that because it's going to be blowing around.”

High winds will likely complicate, perhaps stall completely, efforts to remove the overnight accumulation, said Kevin Hackathorn of the Johnson County road maintenance department.

“We'll determine if it's safe for them to go out,” he said. “I'll just wait until it's safe. It does us no good to have snow plows in the ditch.

“If it's going to do what they're talking about doing, there's no sense getting in a big hurry, because nobody's going anywhere anyway,” he said.

Area grocery stores experienced the usual pre-storm business, with staples such as bread and milk the most popular buys.

“Milk and bananas and bread,” said Jim Lingo, store director at Hy-Vee Foods' store on Collins Road NE. “A lot of snow melt and a lot of shovels. We're seeing people buy a lot of baking goods now. People are thinking they're going to be stuck for a few days, so they're going to do their holiday baking.”

“Just all of the staples,” said Jason Thrasher, manager of the New Pioneer Cooperative in Iowa City. “Really basic items like milk and bread and cheese. Maybe a little more wine than I would expect for a typical Tuesday.”

The region's utility companies, already completed with their seasonal preparations, spent Monday and Tuesday reviewing plans and supplies.

“They're making sure we've got the winter gear ready and our supply sources are ready,” said Ryan Stensland, spokesman for Alliant Energy. “Fortunately, they're not talking about a lot of ice, and ice is the worst that could happen to us.”

“It's just wait and see at this point,” said Ann Thelen, spokeswoman for MidAmerican Energy.