Hello again everyone! The winter storm that has been persistent across the area continues to bring areas of light snow for locations east of the NE Panhandle into the state of IA. Warmer temperatures continue to cling on in far southeastern IA, so rains are still being observed. Progressing through the rest of today into tonight, the snows will dwindle in coverage with weakening intensity as well. With the storm system lifting east, this will allow for the snows to drift south and eastward with time.
Here’s a look at the current winter storm alerts across the area: Winter Storm Warnings remain in effect through 7pm EST this evening in northern NE with the warnings in northwestern IA set to expire hear shortly. Another patch of warnings include the city of Omaha, which runs through 7pm EST this evening as well. Elsewhere, there are Winter Weather Advisories in southern NE and to the north and west of Des Moines. All of these warnings are set to expire today as the snows dwindle in coverage and intensity.
Here’s a brief synopsis of what to expect going through the rest of the day into Monday: We’ll watch the storm system that has plagued the area with snows this weekend gradually work eastward. This will allow the snows to drift south and east with the bulk of the activity exiting late tonight. A weak shortwave trough will dig in behind our storm system and squeeze out any remaining moisture to produce scattered light snow showers/flurries through Monday night. The snows that follow our storm system likely won’t be heavy, but may be a nuisance.
Simulated radar through 6pm CST Monday: The low pressure center will continue to slowly meander eastward through the remainder of the day out of the area, which will help to pull the snows south and eastward with time and steadily weaken the snow coverage. The majority of the snow will be out of NE by 3am CST tonight and IA shortly thereafter. However, with that shortwave trough digging into the area tonight, weak snow showers/flurry activity will remain likely across eastern NE into IA. Progressing through the day Monday, we’ll continue to see the forcing present for the continued development of weak snow showers/flurries in the same areas, though will be on a weakening trend as well.
Here’s a simulation of temperatures into Monday morning: Temperatures over a large majority of NE into the northwestern half of IA will be at or below freezing today. This will allow for a slightly fluffier snow to fall and continue slick road risks. Heading into tonight and Monday morning, temperatures will fall even further with the entire area well into the 20s. This will allow for re-freeze risks on any wet surfaces so definitely continue to be mindful when traveling through this timeframe.
Gusty winds upwards of 30mph in IA will continue to subside slowly through the evening and overnight hours with most areas under 20mph by late tonight. This is a result of the storm system lifting to the east. However, blowing snow along with reduced visibilities will continue to be a concern.
Here’s an updated snowfall graphic for additional accumulations through Monday morning: The snows will continue to decrease in coverage and intensity through tonight but we still expect around 1-2″ of additional snow in portions of eastern NE into southwestern IA. Generally less than an inch is expected elsewhere. Even with snowfall coverage waning, travel will continue to be very difficult.
If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out! Have a great rest of your day!