First measurable snowfall of the season is coming for Eastern Iowa

Cedar Rapids, along with most of Eastern Iowa, is expected to see one to two inches of snow between Monday evening and Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service Quad Cities Office. The Des Moines Office predicts two to three inches of snow will fall by Thursday morning.

The snow is coming a couple of weeks earlier than normal, said Tom Philip, a meteorologist with the Quad Cities NWS office.

The average date for the first measurable snow of the season in Cedar Rapids is Nov. 23, and the area doesn’t usually see a full inch until around Dec. 1, Philip said.

The snow comes after record high temperatures were recorded in the area in the middle of last week, before a cold front arrived on Thursday.

“Some areas saw temperatures dropping a good 20 degrees just in a matter of hours, from the 70s down to the 50s,” Philip said.

The first couple of inches of snow tend to be the most hazardous on the roads, according to Craig Bargfrede, the winter operations administrator for the Iowa Department of Transportation.

“Everyone’s got to get back into that winter driving mindset,” Bargfrede said. “When you’re only talking an inch or two of snow, which is not a lot of accumulation, those are the kind of snows that always bring us the most problems because people think, ‘Well it’s only a couple inches. I don’t have to slow down any.’”

The DOT has spent the last couple of months preparing for winter weather. That includes checking equipment and making sure snow clearing routes are all ready. Bargfrede said he’s heard talk in other states about a potential shortage of salt for the roads this year, but that shouldn’t be a problem in Iowa, partially because of all the salt left over from last year’s light winter. The DOT currently has about 264,000 tons of salt ready to be used across the state.

The City of Cedar Rapids also has been making preparations for the snow. The city purchased a new snowplow earlier this month with some updated designs that add more capabilities to the single vehicle, said Streets Operation Manager Mike Duffy.

“The biggest changes on this truck are the wing placement and underbody plow,” Duffy said. “The underbody plow is used mostly for cutting packed snow or ice. This additional plow resulted in the redesign of the wing plow. This change will help to improve visibility for the operator, allowing them to see the wing from inside the cab.”

The new truck cost the city $264,251.42, which is about $10,000 more than the standard plow configuration, said Keiko Rector, Cedar Rapids’ public services communications specialist.

The plow is a tandem axle truck that will primarily be used on the larger roadways, like First Avenue, Blairs Ferry Road or Edgewood Road, according to Duffy.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com