Most of Iowa is in a winter storm warning

By Albert Lea Tribune and Associated Press

A winter snowstorm is expected to dump 3 to 7 inches on Albert Lea, according to the National Weather Service.

The forecast calls for an Alberta clipper to deliver snow today after 3 p.m. The daytime high is expected to be 3 degrees above. The weather service says 1 to 3 inches should come during the day, with 2 to 4 additional inches overnight.

“The heaviest snow is expected across southwest Minnesota and near the Minnesota and Iowa border in south central Minnesota where around 6 inches is expected,” states a winter weather advisory issued from the Chanhassen bureau. “The amount of snow will decrease going northward in Minnesota. Accumulating snow is still expected across much of southern Minnesota and west central Wisconsin.”

Across the border in Iowa, counties across most of the state were in a winter storm warning, including Winnebago and Worth counties.

“There will be significant travel impacts for some beginning with the evening commute and lasting into tonight,” states a warning issued from the Johnston, Iowa, bureau.

The storm is expected to diminish by 3 a.m. Tuesday.

The storm could leave as many as 6 inches of snow in Chicago by early Tuesday. After that, Arctic temperatures like those seen in North Dakota and Minnesota will rush in. Parts of those states were expecting wind chills of between 25-50 degrees below zero through this morning.

It’ll be a similar story in New York, where rain showers will give way to cold air. By Thursday, “New York City will be lucky if it hits 20” for a high and could see lows near 10 degrees, according to Michael Musher with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.

Atlanta will see temperatures dip to about 15 degrees today and Tuesday.

In the West, a stream of Pacific moisture will drop as much as 6 inches of rain in the Seattle area and could mean substantial snowfall in the Cascades. But in San Francisco — a region that desperately needs rain — skies will be sunny.

Morning commuters in Albert Lea today started their week off with wind chill values as low as 27 below zero. A wind chill advisory was in effect through all of central and southern Minnesota and west central Wisconsin.

Patchy and blowing snow is expected after 11 a.m. Tuesday in Albert Lea, which is forecast as sunny and cold with a high of 4 degrees, according to the weather service. The high for Wednesday is expected to be 7 below, but Thursday bounces back with 14 above.