Weather-related weekend closures: Churches, libraries and more in central Iowa

Updated: December 14, 2024, 10:31 a.m. CST

Sounds good. OPHELIA. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND YOU WERE IN OTTUMWA THIS MORNING. And these are the conditions that OPHELIA found herself in there. YOU CAN SEE THE ICY CONDITIONS. ENSURES BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHS. THERE YOU CAN SEE THE ICE ON THE BRANCHES OF THE TREES. So if you stay at home and look at it from outside, you will definitely have a wonderful view. I ALSO WANT TO SHOW YOU SOME PICTURES FROM OUR METEOROLOGIST SLASH PHOTOGRAPHER DAVID KELLER. YOU CAN SEE THESE PICTURES HE TOOK RIGHT HERE IN THE KCCI PARKING LOT. WE SAW THAT THIS MORNING TOO. SOME BRANCHES WITH THE ICICLES. And then I know we have another photo. You can really see the ice on our cars like that because those are just the conditions we faced this morning. IT’S SO REALLY COOL TO BE ABLE TO SEE THIS WEATHER PATTERN IN ACTION HERE. But that’s really just the tricky part of it. DAVID is preparing for it. MUCH OF IT IS HARD TO SEE. And these are really the conditions that come with ice as a whole. YES, THAT’S RIGHT, NICOLE. And you saw those branches just leaning down in Ottumwa. This is the weight of the ice. That’s why we were worried about the possibility of power outages. AS WE’VE SEEN, WE’VE SEEN ABOUT 4 OR 5,000 POWER OUTAGES HERE THIS MORNING DUE TO THE ICE ON THE TREES AND POWER LINES IN SOUTHEASTERN IOWA. Luckily we didn’t have that much ice here in the subway, just enough to make a mess. The freezing rain is now tapering off and we are transitioning to cold rain, but we will continue to see freezing rain for a few more hours across northeast Iowa. SO THE CONDITIONS HERE FROM, SAY, MARSHALLTOWN, TOWARD WATERLOO, INTO THE DECORAH AREA. I’ll be struggling with this ice until early afternoon. But I think we’ll see most of these slick spots here starting to melt around 10:00 this morning, with just a few cold showers as we head into the afternoon. HERE YOU HAVE A WINTER WEATHER WARNING FOR THE ENTIRE STATE. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HERE IN DES MOINES. ICE STORM WARNING FOR EASTERN IOWA. This lasts until 3pm depending on where you are. I think temperatures already above that freezing mark could allow them to lift these warnings early. ALTHOUGH WE HAVE SEEN SOME VERY SIGNIFICANT ICE, WE HAVE SEEN IT ON THE TREES THERE IN THE PICTURES BELOW IN OTTUMWA, PROBABLY IF THEY HAVE SEEN SIMILAR CONDITIONS IN OSKALOOSA AND IN CHARITON AS THIS ICE CONTINUES TO LOOK. One of the reports here in Ottumwa said that the branches of the trees were about a quarter of an inch thick and the ground was about a third of an inch thick. So pretty heavy rain. THERE IS HEAVY ICE THERE. That’s an ice storm that qualifies for an ice storm here in the metro, about a tenth of an inch of ice, just enough to sort of glaze the branches of the trees and give you a lot of ice to scrape off your car and something of which can produce smooth roads. It’s still raining in Ottumwa, but temperatures are above freezing now, so that will help matters. YOU CAN SEE THE RAIN CONTINUING TO HEAD NORTH TOWARD IOWA CITY, TOWARD IOWA CITY AND TOWARD CEDAR RAPIDS. They also have about a quarter of an inch of ice, so additional power outages may occur there. THIS FREEZING RAIN IS COMING TO AN END ACROSS EASTERN IOWA, CENTRAL IOWA. IT’S RAINING MORE HERE IN NORTHWEST MISSOURI AND SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. THESE WILL BE THE showers heading our way as we head out into the afternoon streets. BUT VERY icy if you head east where there has been heavier freezing rain. BUT WE HAVE SEEN IMPROVEMENTS HERE. Directly west of the subway. We’ve had some icy roads here in the West that have turned from pink to blue. THAT MEANS ROAD CONDITIONS ARE IMPROVING, AND THAT’S PARTLY DUE TO TEMPERATURES, WHICH ARE NOW 32°C IN ANKENY, GRIMES AND NORWALK. So our temperatures are slowly rising and you can see above that freezing mark along and south of I-80. So let’s start melting some of this ice. AND TEMPERATURES SHOULD SLOWLY RISE TO AROUND 35. NOT MUCH WARM BUT ENOUGH TO MELT THE ICE. AND THAT’S ALL WE’RE WORRIED ABOUT RIGHT NOW. A FEW MORE SHOWERS COMING HERE as we head into the afternoon tomorrow. LOOKS LIKE A BETTER DAY. WE SHOULD SEE AT LEAST SOME SUNSHINE WITH A HIGH OF AROUND 42 DEGREES. 47 on Monday and then it looks pretty cool for the second half of the year

Weather-related weekend closures: Churches, libraries and more in central Iowa

Updated: December 14, 2024, 10:31 a.m. CST

The ice storm that devastated most of Iowa on Friday and Saturday caused some businesses, schools and churches to close. Several school districts in the Des Moines area announced early dismissals Friday afternoon because roads were expected to be slippery. Others have canceled or postponed activities, including dozens of high school basketball games and other sporting events. The closures and postponements continued Saturday. Between schools, libraries, churches and banks, about ten locations announced weather-related closures on Saturday. Some places, like the Des Moines Public Library, plan to open Saturday afternoon after the winter weather advisory for central Iowa counties ends. Des Moines Parks and Recreation also canceled youth basketball on Saturday due to the conditions. Our full list of closures and delays can be found here. The current forecast can be found here.

DES MOINES, Iowa –

The ice storm that devastated most of Iowa on Friday and Saturday led to the closure of some businesses, schools and churches.

Several school districts in the Des Moines area announced early dismissals Friday afternoon due to expected slick roads. Others have canceled or postponed activities, including dozens of high school basketball games and other sporting events.

The closures and postponements continued Saturday. About 10 locations, including schools, libraries, churches and banks, announced weather-related closures Saturday.

Some places, such as the Des Moines Public Library, plan to open Saturday afternoon after the winter weather advisory for central Iowa counties ends.

Due to the conditions, Des Moines Parks and Recreation also canceled youth basketball on Saturday.

Our full list of closures and delays can be found here.

The current forecast can be found here.