Sunday, December 2, 2007

Minnesota Road Conditions

The snowstorm continues in Minneapolis although on the left shot it looks like those Christmas shoppers are still hard at it. On the right, road conditions look worse in the southern suburbs. The storm is winding down in Des Moines with light rain and the temp up to 34. In Cedar Rapids, IA they picked up 2 inches of sleet and now have freezing rain and winds to 40 mph. Some areas of eastern Iowa have had over 1/2 inch of freezing rain with some poweer outages being reported. In the Quad cities right now it's 30 degrees with freezing rain.

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.Chicago

Here's Chicago....26 degrees with snow, however the western suburbs are reporting freezing rain and 27 degrees so ice storm conditions will develop across Chicagoland through early evening. From the NWS in Chicago..... ..DANGEROUS WINTER STORM AFFECTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS WILL ALSO CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING. THE STRONG WINDS WILL GREATLY INCREASE THE CHANCE OF DOWNED TREE LIMBS AND POWERLINES AS ICE BEGINS TO ACCUMULATE ON THESE SURFACES...WITH POWER OUTAGES BECOMING INCREASINGLY LIKELY BY THIS EVENING. REPORTS FROM ACROSS THE REGION INDICATE THAT ROADS HAVE BECOME VERY SLICK AND ICE COVERED. TRAVEL WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT AND
DANGEROUS THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. PERSONS ACROSS THE WARNING AREA SHOULD POSTPONE UNNECESSARY TRAVEL THIS AFTERNOON

Truck Quick update from Iowa.... The Iowa Department of Transportation says road conditions in Central Iowa are improving, but to the east travel is still not advised.The southbound lanes of I-35 are shutdown North of Highway 20 near mile marker 144. Police say a semi truck lost control and jack-knifed on the interstate. A semi truck crashed early this morning near Osceola. Southbound lanes were closed for about two hours while crews removed trucks. It has since reopened but traffic is still moving very slow.

Airport_2 The weather led to a scary situation at the Des Moines International Airport this morning, when a plane slid off a taxiway. Passengers were taken off the plane and bussed back to the terminal. No one was injured in the incident, however the airport was closes for most of the morning. Airport officials say it is reopening at 2:15 today, but many flights are still delayed and canceled.

Today, December 1, is the first day of meteorological winter. Central Indiana recorded their 4th warmest fall ever.... click here No numbers in yet for Louisville's fall.....a warm one.