Second snowstorm slams Southeast Iowa

WASHINGTON - Winter weather has spurred canceled school days and nixed travel plans across Iowa for the second time in a week Friday, Jan. 12, as another snowstorm crept across the state.

Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency issued an alert at 12:22 p.m. Friday stating that a shelter-in-place order was in effect and that travel is a “life-threatening risk and not advised.”

Jefferson County Health Center announced at 1:58 p.m. Friday that it was closing all of its clinics - JCHC Clinic, Walk-in Clinic, Professional Clinic, McCreery Cancer Center and Richland Clinic, for the rest of the day Friday and Saturday. The emergency room will remain open.

Government officials said driving conditions were perilous as the DOT upheld no-towing recommendations for all Southeast Iowa counties, and shut down a section of Interstate 80 near Williamsburg, as well as a stretch of Highway 6 between Iowa City and West Liberty and, briefly, a portion of Highway 218 near Crawfordsville.

By 10:30 a.m. Friday, the DOT’s 511 website said every highway in Washington, Henry and Jefferson counties was under a “travel not advised” status, except for a stretch of Highway 218 between Riverside and Hills.

"Snow and a rain/snow mix will expand across the area this morning,“ said a Tweet from the National Weather Service station in the Quad Cities on Friday. ”Most area roads are snow covered and very slick. Periods of heavy snow will reduce visibility to a few hundred feet at times. Use extreme caution if you must travel.“

The hazardous conditions ground business to a halt in Washington County, where weather earlier in the week already led to dozens of snow ban parking tickets and about 50 towing, abandoned vehicle and accident reports in police Call For Service logs since Jan. 9, including an incident around 4:45 a.m. Friday that involved an ambulance getting momentarily stuck in the snow.

The county’s emergency management department urged residents to hunker down and wait out the storm, saying it was as bad if not worse than Tuesdays and Wednesday

“I hope you all have made preparations for (a) second snow, because we aren’t even to the bad part yet, and it is already bad,” said a Facebook post from Washington County Emergency Management Jan. 12. “County offices are closed, schools are closed, banks are closed, because no joke, it’s a mess out!”

While Iowans weren’t seeing many power outages like they did during the storm earlier in the week, County Emergency Management Coordinator Walt Jackson says that doesn’t mean Friday’s storm is any less dangerous.

“The colder weather is a curse and a blessing because with warmer temperatures it is a little bit of a wetter snow,” Jackson explained. “So, it causes damage to power lines, tress, and that kind of stuff. Right now, it’s a drier snow than it was during that first storm was, and a lot colder.”

Lighter snow is less likely to stick to powerlines and cause them to fall due to weight. However, according to Access Energy Director of Member Services and Public Relations Kimberly Davis, the anticipated powerful winds could cause galloping powerlines.

According to Access Energy, galloping lines are powerlines that are covered by snow or ice that then bounce in the wind and should be avoided at all costs. These galloping lines can dislodge ice that could cause damage, or they could cause lines to break free from poles resulting in outages.

“At this time we don’t have any outages,” Davis said before noon Friday. “I didn’t really want to say that out loud because I don’t want to jinx us, but when the wind picks up, that’s when we’ll start seeing galloping lines and that’s when we might start having problems.”

Davis reminds residents to call their electricity provider as soon as they lose power or Access Energy members can use the smarthub to report outages. She also reminds others to charge their devices while they know they have power, just in case.

“Right now, the winds aren’t that bad,” Jackson said early Friday afternoon. “But I think later tonight or this afternoon we’re supposed to be getting some 40 to 50 miles per hour winds which could wreak some havoc on power lines and trees.”

This means, even when it the snow stops, conditions won’t necessarily improve.

Jackson commented that the previous snowfall paired with Friday’s new snow makes it difficult for road crews to keep up and urges residents to stay home in snowstorms like these for the safety of themselves and emergency crews.

“Because it is an artic blast that is supposed to be coming through, we’re going to have some pretty good winds and then all of this is going to start blowing,” Jackson said. “Then we’ll have some pretty good drifts.”

Even before temperatures drop to their expected negative single digits over the weekend and the wind picks up significantly, Jackson says he has heard a constant stream of emergency personnel going from one accident to the next.

“Seriously, on 34 between New London and Mt. Pleasant and on 218 going north you have all those open fields and everything so when the wind starts going, it’s going to be pushing across the interstates and whatnot and could create some pretty dangerous situations,” Jackson said.

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According to Jackson, these winds will create large drifts that motorists won’t see coming due to the lighter snowfall blowing and significantly limiting visibility.

“Please shelter in place as travel is a life-threatening risk and not advised,” Henry County Emergency Management urged via the Sheriff’s Office social media.

The City of Fairfield posted on its Facebook page that City Hall would be open Friday morning, but later updated that to say it was going to close at noon and remain closed until Tuesday, Jan. 16, respecting the federal holiday of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 15.

Fairfield Parks and Recreation also announced it would close at noon Friday, and reopen at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13. The facility will host a youth swim meet that morning.

Waste Management has been one day behind in trash and recycling pickup this week, and the company said it would try to finish pickup by the end of the day Saturday.

The Fairfield Public Library and Carnegie Historical Museum are closed today.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com