SO... WHAT'S NEXT?

This winter has been forcing us to look at the next system before we're even done with the current one. Makes sense considering much of the Midwest has picked up most of it's snow this winter (so far) in the last 40 some odd days.

The good news is we will have a few days before another strong storm moves through the Midwest. However, there will still be chances for light snow this week. First, let's recap what happened this weekend.

First, heavy rain set records...

Then came the snow.

A powerful winter storm created blizzard conditions in portions of the Midwest. Heavy snow and strong winds closed roads for hours... effectively shutting down portions of Iowa and Minnesota. Here's a closer look at the snowfall totals around Iowa. Northwest Iowa got slammed...

A matter of 100 miles and eastern Iowa would have been completely slammed by this storm. We were spared on the east side of the state and into Illinois. But everyone was dealing with strong winds through the day Sunday. Here's some of the peak wind gusts from the NWS Quad Cities:

Wow. These strong winds were creating ground blizzard conditions even where just a few inches of snow fell. And it was a lot worse where over a foot of fresh snow was on the ground. Significant drifts of 4-6 feet piled up in towns and on roads. Here's a look at cars stranded on a highway near Kasson, Minnesota Sunday afternoon:

The winds will calm down by Monday morning and that will allow crews to really clean up the mess left behind by this storm. It will be cold and calm to start the new week.

There will be a few chances for snow this week, as I mentioned above. Monday night into Tuesday there will be the chance for some very light snow or freezing drizzle as a shortwave moves through the Midwest.

There will be a clipper on Thursday and a stronger storm comes in Friday/Saturday. The details on these will have to be worked out as we get closer. Winter is not done with us yet...

RK