Wind chills dropped as low as 20 degrees Celsius in parts of northern Iowa this morning, with air temperatures in the negative range.

National Weather Service meteorologist Cory Martin says this will likely be the coldest day Iowans have experienced since January and there will be even more scattered snow.

“We expect precipitation to spread across much of the state by late morning,” Martin said, “and temperatures will likely be cold enough to allow freezing rain.”

This freezing rain is causing black ice on the roads and Martin says driving could become dangerous.

“We’re looking at up to a tenth of an inch of icing, maybe up to two-tenths of an inch in some places, which could cause travel concerns,” Martin said. “From Friday night into Saturday morning we will see temperatures continue to rise and actually rise above freezing, which should eventually put an end to concerns about icing as we are just moving above straight, liquid rain.”

The forecast calls for precipitation to end later Saturday, while Sunday should be dry, with highs acceptable in the 30s and 40s for December in Iowa.

(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)