Winter Storm Warning in effect until 6 am CST Saturday...
Rest of Tonight
Snow. New snow accumulation of 2 to 3 inches. Near steady temperature in the upper 20s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Thursday
Snow. Areas of blowing snow in the late afternoon. Snow accumulation of 2 to 3 inches. Near steady temperature in the mid 20s. North winds 10 to 20 mph.
Windy...snow. Areas of blowing snow. Snow accumulation of 5 to 6 inches. Near steady temperature in the lower 20s. North winds 15 to 30 mph becoming 25 to 35 mph after midnight.
Christmas Day
Windy...snow. Areas of blowing snow. Moderate snow accumulations. Highs in the mid 20s. Northeast winds 20 to 35 mph.
Friday Night
Windy. Light snow likely. Blowing snow. Light snow accumulations. Lows 15 to 20. North winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts to around 40 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent.
Saturday
Cloudy and windy. Areas of blowing snow in the morning. Light snow likely in the morning...then chance of light snow in the afternoon. Light snow accumulations. Highs 15 to 20. Chance of snow 70 percent.
... Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 6 am CST Saturday...
A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 6 am CST Saturday.
* Timing... light snow will continue through the night into the day time hours on Thursday. In addition... enough warm air aloft is wrapping into this system... that the Storm Lake Iowa has a threat of seeing a wintry mix of sleet late tonight and Thursday. Although the snow will diminish from time to time... the snow will persist through Friday night... moderate to heavy at times... .especially Thursday night into Friday.
* Accumulations... all told from tonight through Friday night... snowfall totals of 12 to 18 inches are expected. Some amounts near 20 inches are not out of the question along I 90 in southwest Minnesota. Ice accumulations today will be minimal.
* Wind and visibility... winds will turn to the north and northwest on Thursday... lasting through Friday night. 20 to 35 mph winds will be common on Thursday... increasing on Friday to 25 to 40 mph. The strongest winds will be along and west of the James River Valley in southeast and south central South Dakota. The wind combined with the snowfall will likely reduce visibilities to near zero at times.
Precautionary/preparedness actions...
A Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous... if not impossible at times. Only travel in an emergency. If you must travel... keep an extra flashlight... food... and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.