Chance Of Snow Could Affect Afternoon Commute: Des Moines Weather

DES MOINES, IA — The metro area's next weather adventure could be light flurries this afternoon, falling in time for the evening commute, the National Weather Service Des Moines office reports. Accumulations should be less than an inch.

The weather service said the chance of precipitation is 30 percent through the afternoon, followed by a 40 percent chance of snow before midnight and flurries from midnight to 2 a.m. Late evening snow accumulations should be less than half an inch.

That's far from the "bomb cyclone" that's barreling up the Eastern Seaboard from Florida to Maine, where states are being inundated with snow and hurricane-force winds — and a bomb-like drop in pressure. Once the snow ends there, the temperatures will dip into the polar vortex range with some of the coldest air of this already-bone-chilling season.

The bomb cyclone prediction alone caused airlines on Wednesday to offer rescheduled flights for customers. By the time the winter storm began today, it had caused more than 3,000 flight cancellations nationwide.

Back to the Des Moines forecast and better news: After tonight, the next precipitation could be Saturday night, with a 20 percent chance of snow after midnight. As temperatures rise Saturday into Sunday, we could see rain and snow before noon Sunday, then a slight chance of rain between noon and 4 p.m., turning into a mix of rain and snow after 4 p.m.

The good news? The end of our deep freeze is in sight with the high for Sunday expected to be near 37, with a Sunday night low of 20.

Daytime temperatures will dip below freezing again at the start of the week, with a forecast for highs of upper 20s and lower 30s through Wednesday.

Image via Gerd Altmann/Pixabay