Freezing rain could cause travel issues Wednesday

A storm set to march through Eastern Iowa , starting Wednesday morning and continuing through the day, could bring up to a quarter-inch of freezing rain.

With this particular storm, I'm pretty confident that freezing rain will be the dominant precipitation type, as opposed to snow," KCRG-TV9 First Alert Meteorologist Kaj O'Mara says. "There may be some sleet mixed in, but this should primarily be a freezing rain event, unfortunately."

Since we've been stuck in the clouds and fog lately, the area has developed a huge inversion -- a condition that traps cold air in the lowest level of the atmosphere.  With warmer air sitting at about 2,000 feet, rain is dominant, and will fall on sub-freezing ground, O'Mara says.

Temperatures tomorrow will likely be in the upper 20s to near 30, which is ideal for surface icing.

Freezing rain will likely move in by mid-morning Wednesday and continue on a scattered basis through the day.  A stiff east wind will keep surface temperatures down below freezing as well.  Total ice accumulations of one-tenth to one-quarter inch appear to be likely, with isolated higher totals.

"It's a low-end ice storm, but will certainly cause some issues for the area," O'Mara said.