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Hi all. I'm still hoping for $530 dollars to reach my fund-raising goal (I'm 96% there). Personally, I'm appealing to those of you who appreciate the reliability, honesty, accuracy, and knowledge of the site, to consider a donation, (especially if it helps with financial decisions related to your business). If you fall into any of these categories and find value in the effort put forth, I humbly ask that you make a $20 dollar investment into this unique and reliable product.

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COULD HAVE BEEN FAR WORSE...

TUESDAY MORNING NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF I-35 AND HIGHWAY 20 IN IOWA

The storm that rolled right over the Quad Cites early Tuesday is one of the all-time strongest March storms in eastern Iowa history as related to pressure. The central depth of 980mb (28.93") was just short of the record of 978mb (28.88") set in 1923 and 2007 at the NWS office in the Quad Cities. Storms of that magnitude always produce intense winds, and both Des Moines and Ames had gusts of 60 mph with several inches of snow.

Tuesday night it got very ugly with whiteout conditions in central and western Iowa, where I-80 was impassable for a time from West Des Moines to Avoca.

Despite blizzard warnings issued well before the event, people failed to heed the message, and the Iowa State Patrol was forced to make 412 service calls in a 3-hour period Tuesday night. 68 crashes were reported, and 344 motorists were assisted. Why?

Travel was not advised during the height of the storm over the whole western half of the state, with several roads closed by drifts. Ironically, temperature were in the 50s over much of the area just 24 hours earlier. March Madness at its finest.

Here's a look at the size and scope of the storm by way of the GOES 16 Satellite. Its girth is taking up the entire eastern half of the nation. Look at the eye showing up near Lake Huron. That's what cut through SE Iowa. Had it been 150 miles southeast, we would be the ones digging out from 6 or more inches of wind driven snow.

Here's where the brunt of the snow fell.

1 to 2 inches of snow was measured over my counties in east-central Iowa. Up to 9 inches buried NC Iowa.

Look at all the precipitation that fell, with some areas between Cedar Rapids and Dubuque picking up more than 2 inches. Had that been all snow, amounts of 15-20" would have possible with standard 10:1 ratios. It was not to be, with just too much warm air to overcome.

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FRIDAY SNOW, WARMER NEXT WEEK...

Behind the storm, Thursday will see significantly less in the way of wind and while temperatures will be crisp, highs should still be able to break 40 in many areas with abundant sunshine.

The March wave train gets active again late Thursday night and Friday morning as a west to east band of mainly snow develops along the baroclinic boundary in place. The overall forcing is in a narrow ribbon about 100 miles wide. Models currently suggest that it sets up between I-80 and HWY 20, my northern counties. Here, a swath of snow is shown that could accumulate 1 to perhaps 2 inches. There are signs amounts will get lighter as you go east, with the system getting impacted by shear aloft I don't expect this to amount to much, but it could be a nuisance just the same early Friday. Models are indicating this for potential snow totals.

The EURO

The GFS

The 3K NAM

The 12K NAM

The HRRR

The 10K GEM

Ending on a positive note, spring temperatures are showing signs of a welcome visitation next week. The EURO is all in on the idea, showing 3 days with highs in the 60s, one of them near 70 March 11th. Even later, it peaks at 73 March 14th. About a week ago I had mentioned this potential and with all the action going on recently I was focused on the near term and let it drop. It got my attention again today, and I suspect yours too!

The GFS is not as warm the 11th, but has its own version of a 70 the 14th. I like where trends are headed next week.

That's where we stand after one of the more potent March storms on record. I'm disappointed we avoided the blizzard just west of us, but I realize most of you are not into that kind of extreme weather, and you are happy as a clam. I get it. To each his own. Happy Thursday and Roll weather, and if you can spare a donation to get me to my goal, I will see to it that it's money well spent....TS