Clouds will increase today as a storm system lifts north out of Missouri through the day. This storm will bring a mix of rain to snow across Central Iowa through the night and early Thursday morning. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for parts of eastern Central Iowa.

The rain and snow will begin in southern Iowa later this evening, as an area of low pressure lifts northeast out of Arkansas and Missouri. There is plenty of moisture with it. On the northwest edge of the precipitation, it will be cold enough for snow through the early morning. We will be flirting with 32 degrees so this will have a big impact on where most of the snow may fall.

The highest snowfall amounts are expected just east of I-35. There is not much model consistency, so this is a fluid forecast and will be adjusted as the storm moves in. There are some discrepancies in the path and temperatures at the time of the precipitation being right on either side of 32 which will make determining precipitation type ahead of time difficult.

There is a Winter Storm Watch issued just along and east of I-35 for Thursday, but the counties in this watch area may be adjusted through the day today. Totals look to range from 1 to 3″ inches along I-35, with some higher amounts just a county or two eastward. There will be a sharp cut-off to the western edge with many western counties seeing no snow.

Temperatures will be briefly colder in the 20s and low 30s on Friday, as well as a few snow showers early Friday morning to finish the work week.

The weekend will be sunny and dry with temperatures warming back up to the 40s.