Remainder of Iowa Winter Looks TERRIBLE

The first few weeks of the "official" winter season in Iowa hasn't been too bad. Temperatures have been very moderate and, other than last weekend, we haven't seen much snow at all. I've greatly enjoyed it. However, it's all about to change and the rest of our winter in Iowa looks miserable.

You've undoubtedly heard that snow is forecast for Friday through Saturday morning. CBS 2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails says it's setting up for another substantial storm across the area with the models mostly in agreement. Both Cedar Rapids and Iowa City could see around nine inches of new snow. What's different this weekend is that the entire state of Iowa should see snow and wind will come along with it, causing blowing and drifting. The models currently suggest anywhere from four inches to as much as a foot-plus in western Iowa. Stay tuned on this, for sure. Oh, and more snow chances are coming next week.

Now, part two. The part I hate the most. Cold weather is coming and it appears it won't be easy to get it to leave.

The current National Weather Service forecast for Cedar Rapids for Sunday (1/20) night is 7 below zero. Swails says don't believe it. Thanks to the even thicker bed of snow we're likely to have on the ground by then, the GFS weather model suggests temperatures will be more in the neighborhood of -14. It appears next weekend will be even worse.

Friday, January 25 the GFS forecasts high temperatures around -9 for Cedar Rapids. Saturday morning, January 26, we could wake up to temperatures around -23 with wind chills near -50. Do you remember the last time we saw wind chill numbers like that? It's been years.

Even worse, the EURO weather model forecasts below normal temperatures for the state of Iowa for the next six-plus weeks... possibly 10 degrees below normal for the 46-day period it forecasts. That takes us to March and begs the question... will March come in like a lion? Let's hope not because if this forecast holds true, we'll definitely be ready for a lamb by then...