“The biggest thing we want to hit home is that we’re going to have decent snowfall”, Deb Elliott, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told the Detroit News.
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Polk County Engineer Kurt Bailey said Iowa’s county snow plow operators have been ready to go since mid-October, anticipating the first snow usually around the weekend of Thanksgiving.
Hope Peterson, 22, and Alex Cutler, 24, both of Sioux Falls, shovel the sidewalk in front of Cutler’s parents’ house during the first snow of the season Friday, November 20, 2015, in Sioux Falls, S.D.
A winter storm warning means significant amounts of snow are expected or occurring.
Southern South Dakota saw significant snowfall and poor travelling conditions Friday morning, with a foot or more of snow expected. Grand Rapids in western MI had about 3 inches. “Most people aren’t even fazed by it”. Snowfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches are likely in those areas.
A winter storm advisory for several other southeast MI counties, especially Wayne.
Far northern Wayne County could get up to 6 inches of snow before it tapers off this evening, the weather service said.
Roads were slushy due to a rain and snow mix around the Chicago area, and a few snow totals topped the initial forecast of six to 10 inches. Woodstock had 12.5 inches and Roscoe recorded 11.7 inches.
Chicago’s O’Hare global Airport had 7.1 inches of snow by noon, which canceled about 310 flights in and out of the airport, according to FlightAware.com. Snow cover doesn’t just provide a lovely landscape, but it provides freezing power for the atmosphere. Marengo is about 65 miles northwest of Chicago. Almost 17 inches were reported in George, Iowa, and near Footville, Wisconsin. Sioux Falls, South Dakota was a chilly 11 degrees early Saturday morning and Estherville in northern Iowa was 6 degrees with a wind chill of minus 4 degrees, the weather service said.
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The Midwest’s first snowstorm of the season moved across the region Friday and Saturday, causing whiteout conditions and treacherous travel. The National Weather Service advises residents to only travel in an emergency. Saturday and Sunday’s high temperatures should reach the mid-30s before falling back into the upper 20s, according to the weather service.
