Winter Not Going Away Anytime Soon

A weekend blizzard that dumped another half-foot of snow on Mills County and southwest Iowa turned area roadways into skating rinks and forced more school closings throughout the region on Monday.

What started out as freezing drizzle Friday night and Saturday morning turned into a full-fledged blizzard late Saturday afternoon with blowing snow and frigid temperatures. Those conditions continued into Sunday.

The snow moved in around 3 p.m. on Saturday and continued to fall into the early morning hours of Sunday. The snow was accompanied by high winds, causing drifting throughout the region and creating treacherous driving conditions on interstates, state highways and both county and city roads.

Despite the efforts of road crews on Sunday, the high winds continued to blow snow around in open areas, creating ice-covered and snow-packed roadways. As of late Monday morning, the Iowa Department of Transportation was not recommending travel on Interstate 29 between Hamburg and Council Bluffs as both southbound and northbound lanes remained snow-packed.

Most school districts in southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska called off classes Monday, adding yet another snow day that will need to be made up at the end of the school year.

For students in the Glenwood Community School District, the last day of school is now scheduled for June 5. Any additional unscheduled days off will likely push the end of the school year back even further.