Fly-Over State...Cold Flying In

We know we are a "fly-over" state, but this picture from Drew Sorenson really puts a perspective on the stereotype.

This photolink was taken last Friday. Pretty cool...as long as there is safe distance between the folks in the friendly skies.

Cold temperatures are going to make up the morning forecast again tomorrow. Today we had lows in the 20s and teens.

There is a slight chance for light snow this afternoon...basically flurries. It will clear tonight and lows will be in the lower to middle 20s.

More sunshine is on the way for the rest of the week. A few showers are possible with warmer highs on Saturday before we head into colder temperatures Sunday and much of next week.

Still no major storms expected through Thanksgiving.

Have a great day... follow along on Twitter @EdWilsonWX13HD

5th Earliest Snowfall!

These two kids could not wait to get out in their Urbandale yard to build and leaf-packed snowman today!

Olivia and Sophia were so happy and excited. Some of the rest of us were not so pleased.

Snow facts for Des Moines. Courtesy our National Weather Service.

...EARLY NOVEMBER SNOWFALL ACROSS SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL IOWA...

A POTENT FALL STORM SYSTEM BROUGHT A QUICK BURST OF MODERATE TO
HEAVY SNOWFALL TO MANY LOCATIONS ACROSS SOUTH AND CENTRAL IOWA.
THE DES MOINES AIRPORT REPORTED 3.7 INCHES OF SNOW...WHICH RANKS
FIFTH IN HIGHEST SNOWFALL AMOUNTS THIS EARLY IN THE SEASON.

DES MOINES HIGHEST EARLY SEASON SNOWFALL (OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 9TH)
 1.10-27-1980 7.4 INCHES
 2.10-26-1997 6.6 INCHES
 3.11-08-1932 5.7 INCHES
 4.10-27-1925 4.8 INCHES
**5.11-09-2011 3.7 INCHES**

THE AVERAGE DATE OF THE FIRST INCH OF SNOWFALL IN DES MOINES IS
NOT UNTIL DECEMBER 1ST. THE AVERAGE DATE FOR AMOUNTS NEAR 3.7
INCHES IS NOT UNTIL EARLY JANUARY...SO THIS WAS QUITE AN ANOMALOUS
EVENT.

The anomalous snow will soon melt off with highs back in the 50s over the weekend.

Follow along with Mr. Ed via Twitter @EdWilsonWX13HD

Early snow! Roads over central Iowa are a mess this morning. It will be slow travel for most of the I-35/I-80 cross over the central 1/3 of Iowa this morning.

The storm that brought us so much rain yesterday stalled last night as we had temperatures fall below the freezing point. The wet/slushy mess also had a great amount of wind.

Power lines are down across the area as slush and ice stuck to power lines that were rocked with up to 30 mph hour wind.

The first snow picture is from Waukee. 2 to 3 inches of snow had been pushed off the streets by 6 this morning. The last picture is from Rick Reed in Creston. Rick had 6 inches of snow. That amount of snow and power outages kept school delays running on the bottom of the Channel 13 screen this morning.

Last night we expected around 2 inches of snow...that was true for most of the metro, but many ares of the state had up to 6" ... even 7" of snow.

The better news is the snow is already starting to melt. The temperature at 7AM was 36. We are expecting lower 40s today....mid-40s tomorrow and 50s for the weekend.

Please drive safe and stay updated with us here and on Twitter @EdWilsonWX13HD

Snow in Earlham Tonight!

Jeff Baker sent us this picture of the snow on the ground in Earlham. This was the scene as of 9:45PM.

Road conditions were just starting to get slick in western Iowa tonight. The rest of the state had wet roads.

There will be slick areas across central Iowa tomorrow morning. We are expecting about 1-2" of snow in the metro...most of the snow will be on grassy areas, but there will be slick condition on roads before the sun comes out by noon.

Remember to follow along on Twitter @EdWilsonWX13HD.

Winter Weather Advisory Update

Heavy rain continues this evening in central Iowa. There will be rain/snow mix tonight.

We have a Winter Weather Advisory that has expanded into central Iowa. It includes Des Moines.

This will be tricky tonight as the rain slides in over 40 degree temperatures...but much colder air is just above the ground.

I expect a total change to snow overnight...but most of it melting as it hits the ground.

Grassy areas will be filled with slushy conditions...but most roads in central Iowa will remain wet.

Follow along on Twitter @EdWilsonWX13HD

Winter Weather Advisory Tonight-Wed. Morning.

A winter weather advisory is still scheduled to begin at 9 tonight for counties west and north of Des Moines.

There is a good chance for rain to switch to snow by early Wednesday morning. We could see about an inch or less of snow in Des Moines. This could make for some slick spots in the metro tomorrow morning.

Heavier amounts of snow are expected from Ft. Dodge to Mason City. Those folks could see 3 to 5 inches of snow by Noon Wednesday.

We are going to update this through the day on Channel 13... 5, 6 and 10 newscasts.

Also follow me on Twitter @EdWilsonWX13HD for frequent updates.

Sleet started to fall in Waukee around 2PM today. This picture is from the deck on the back of our house.

We had reports through the early afternoon of ice pellets in Iowa Falls and sleet in Perry and Urbandale.

The metro will see the sleet/flurries through the rest of the afternoon. There may be some light accumulation on patios and decks. The commute this evening could be slick...but more from the rainfall than the chance for ice forming on the warm pavement.

The rain and mix of sleet and flurries will end this evening. It will be cold, breezy and dry tomorrow.

This is probably a good time to give you the location for Iowa road conditions.

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/roads/

We will have complete coverage of this wet and cold Wednesday tonight at 5, 6 and 10PM.

Follow for updates on Twitter.... @EdWilsonWX13HD