The National Weather Service held a hazardous weather conference call today at 2:00 PM to discuss the severe weather moving into the state starting Wednesday, February 19th and continuing into Thursday, February 20th. Below is a brief summary of that call and attached are the slides from the briefing.

Timing: Rain will be heaviest across SE portion of IA starting later this evening and thunderstorms after midnight are likely and spreading N overnight. Looking at the potential of runoff and ponding of water. During the day tomorrow the rain will be changing to snow in the mid to late morning hours. With a possibility of 3-7 inches of snow with higher amounts further north. Expect reduced visibility with snow packed roads, bridges and sidewalks. There is a potential for wet and heavy snow which will make removal difficult. Looking at strong winds to increase from morning into afternoon, possibly causing issues for the afternoon commute. Winds of 25-35 mph with gusts of up to 50 mph, causing blizzard like conditions. If the snow is wet and heavy there will be a concern for power lines.

Area Impacted: Central and Northern Iowa will see the greatest impact, with higher snow amounts to the north. Per the NWS graphic below it appears Marion County is on the edge of the Blizzard Watch. They advised they are expecting approximately 3 inches of snow in the Des Moines Metro area.