Southwest Iowa Gets Double Blast Of Winter
Tim Wilson and Matt Prunty clear a sidewalk outside an apartment complex in Glenwood Saturday morning.
Lonnie and Libby Waller help their mother Alysia scoop snow from their driveway on Friday.
City Public Works employees move snow from Walnut Street.
Athena Barrett has some winter fun on a slippery slope near Sivers Road.
The temperature at noon on Saturday, Jan. 13, was minus 5 degrees.
Over 15 inches of snow and four consecutive days of subzero temperatures, made for a frigid, wintry week in Mills County and southwest Iowa.
Two major snowstorms passed through the region last week. The first storm moved in from Kansas and Missouri on Tuesday and dumped 5-6 inches of snow across the region. Later in the week, on Thursday night and Friday, a second storm moved in from across the Missouri River in Nebraska and brought nearly 10 additional inches of snow in some areas. The heavy snowfall forced school and business closures and created hazardous driving conditions on area roads that lasted well into the weekend.
High winds created heavy drifting, particularly in open rural areas. The blowing snow made it difficult for area road maintenance crews to keep roads open. Highway 275, between Highway 34 and Tabor, was closed to traffic for several hours over the weekend and travel advisories were issued for roads and highways throughout the county, including Highway 34 and Interstate 29.
Friday’s storm brought the high winds and cold temperatures with it, forcing more school closures, virtual learning days and two-hour late starts into the start of this week.
The temperature was expected to rise into single digits on Tuesday and approach 20 today (Wednesday). More snow is in the forecast for Thursday evening into Friday morning and after a dip in temperatures on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the thermometer is projected to climb into the mid 30s by the middle of next week.