(Spirit Lake)– Old man winter paid a return visit to the region today, bringing several inches of powdery snow, wind, and much colder temperatures.
Snow started falling late Wednesday night and is expected to continue until late this afternoon or early evening. The good news is that not much more in the way of accumation is expected. About three inches has fallen so far on the Iowa Great Lakes, with an additional one to two inches expected by late afternoon or evening.
The biggest problem now is with the wind and much colder temperatures. Considerable blowing and drifting is taking place in open areas. The wind is also causing wind chill values to drop to the teens below zero, with actual air temperatures in the single digits. Temperatures are expected to remain steady through the day today, and may not even get above zero for daytime highs Friday. Overnight lows could approach 20 below Friday night.
A slight moderation in temperatures isn’t expected until Wednesday of next week when daytime readings could approach 20 above.
Many area schools called off classes for today (Thursday) and some businesses have even closed.
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