Areas of fog with local visibilities of a mile or less can be expected this morning. Some of the fog is creating a mist that freezes on surfaces. Untreated roads...bridges...and sidewalks may have slick spots...so slow down and allow extra braking distance for these conditions.
Forecast for Otoe
Updated: 4:26 am CST on December 22, 2009
Winter Storm Watch in effect from Thursday morning through Friday afternoon...
Today
Cloudy. Patchy light freezing drizzle in the morning... then areas of light freezing drizzle and drizzle in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 30s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
Cloudy. Rain or light freezing rain likely in the evening...then freezing rain likely after midnight. Lows around 30. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.
Wednesday
Freezing rain in the morning...then rain in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 30s. Northeast winds around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent.
Rain or freezing rain. Lows around 30. Northeast winds around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent.
Thursday
Snow. Areas of blowing snow. Snow may be heavy at times. Moderate snow accumulations. Highs in the lower 30s. North winds 15 to 20 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph in the afternoon. Chance of snow near 100 percent.
... Winter Storm Watch now in effect from Thursday morning through Friday afternoon...
The Winter Storm Watch is now in effect from Thursday morning through Friday afternoon.
* Timing: the storm system is likely to produce several waves of precipitation. The first will move into the area on Wednesday morning and will likely be in the form of freezing rain. This will likely change to all rain by afternoon as surface temperatures warm. Another round of precipitation is expected on Wednesday evening and night... but much of this will be in the form of rain... although some patchy freezing rain will be possible. The last round is expected on Thursday which will likely be rain changing to snow... with snow continuing through Friday.
* Snow accumulations: snow accumulations near 6 inches are possible from this storm.
* Ice accumulations: minor ice accumulations are possible Wednesday morning before the freezing rain becomes all rain. The most significant ice accumulations look to be from Tekamah to Onawa to Harlan where more than a tenth of an inch of ice is possible.
* Winds: the wind will be increasing Thursday into Thursday night and continuing through Friday. Some blowing and drifting snow is possible during that time.
* Impacts: significant impacts to travel are possible from this storm system... especially on Thursday through Friday as precipitation slowly changes over to snow.
Precautionary/preparedness actions...
A Winter Storm Watch means that there is potential for significant snow... sleet... or ice accumulations that may impact travel. Continue to monitor the latest forecasts for updates.