Eastern Iowa still dealing with icy roads

CEDAR RAPIDS - Icy roads continue to cause issues for motorists throughout Eastern Iowa.

Cedar Rapids police reported a vehicle slid into Robbins Lake around 7:20 a.m. Monday. Cedar Rapids public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said two men in the vehicle - a Chevrolet Silverado - were able to safely get out of the vehicle.

Buelow said there were 33 crashes in the city between 5:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., but none of them involved any major injuries.

Communications coordinator Emily Muhlbach said crews began spreading salt on the city roads when the rain began just before midnight Sunday. Crews worked through the night, Muhlbach said.

Salt spreaders are still out in the city, prioritizing main roads and secondary streets, Muhlbach said.

'Upon completion of primary roads, crews will begin to move into residential neighborhoods and assist with treatment, likely late morning,” she said in a news release.

Motorists are asked to avoid driving if possible and to use caution on the roads.

Iowa City Police Lt. Kevin Heick said the city was experiencing relatively few weather-related issues. He counted a couple of crashes between 1 and 2 a.m., but nothing after that.

'The main roads are in pretty decent shape,” Heick said.

The timing of the storm - with schools and government offices closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - probably helped keep people off the streets, Heick said.

David Cousins, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Davenport, said that though ice is expected to melt as temperatures increase, today's high is expected to be in the mid-30s and rain will continue throughout the afternoon.

The temperature in Cedar Rapids at about 9 a.m. was 31 degrees, and Cousins said ice was reported in the area anywhere from five hundredths of an inch to a tenth of an inch thick.

Low temperatures in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City are expected to be at 32 degrees overnight, so refreezing is possible, Cousins said.

Light rain is possible early Tuesday.

Pam Hinman, director of marketing and communications for The Eastern Iowa Airport, said the weather had caused a few flight cancellations last night and some Monday morning delays, but nothing unusual for winter weather. Flights had begun to move by about 9:30 a.m., she said.

Despite causing some troubles on the roads, winter weather has had little effect on Iowa utility providers.

Ashton Hockman, spokeswoman with MidAmerican Energy, said ice hadn't caused any outages as of Monday morning.

Tree crews and line mechanics had been prepared since Friday and are on standby in case outages occur, she said.

MidAmerican's infrastructure has been built to withstand ice, but Hockman said wind is the biggest factor in winter weather.

'Our system is designed to withstand ice and wind, however when you get the high winds in the picture it can cause tree branches that are weighed down by ice to come down onto power lines,” she said.

Wind also can make iced power lines to 'gallop,” or bounce up and down, which can cause them to make contact with each other and result in power outages.

Justin Foss, Alliant Energy spokesman, said in a Monday email the utility also hasn't seen much in terms of ice-related power outages.

Foss said a few minor outages occurred when ice caused vehicles to slide off the road and into power poles in Creston and Tama.

Anyone who witnesses a downed power line should stay away and contact their service provider.

The weather is disrupting at least three Martin Luther King Jr. events.

The Downtown Rotary Club in Cedar Rapids is postponing its annual Service Above Self Awards Luncheon, which was to begin at noon at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.

At this time, organizers have not confirmed a reschedule date for the event.

The Cedar Rapids Public Library has canceled a public service job fair and screening of the film, 'He Named Me Malala.” The job fair was to begin at 4 p.m. and the film was planned for 5:30 p.m. at the downtown library, 450 Fifth Ave. SE.

Library officials said they plan to work to reschedule the event.

The University of Iowa is postponing its MLK Day of Service that was to see volunteers out taking part in a variety of service projects, as well as collecting items at area Hy-Vee stores for The Crisis Center of Johnson County and Shelter House.

Officials said the event is to be rescheduled for a date to be determined in February. Details are to be posted at mlk.uiowa.edu in the future.

l Comments: (319) 398-8238; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com