Storm Draco Overtakes Ames, Snow Ordinance In Effect

The promised snow started to pile up in Ames by late evening Wednesday, causing the cancellation of Ames Community Schools on Thursday as well as other activities.

The National Weather Service in Des Moines issued a blizzard warning for much of Iowa, including Story County, and its latest forecast said Ames could wake up to as much as 14 inches of snow on Thursday morning.

The blizzard warning will last through Thursday. The storm could make travel dangerous and strong winds before daybreak Thursday could reduce visibility to a quarter mile.

UPDATE: Storm Draco Brings Snow and Treacherous Travel Conditions

The City of Ames placed its snow ordinance in effect 10 p.m. Wednesday. This means that cars should not be parked along marked emergency snow routes. Anyone parked on those routes could have their cars ticketed or towed. The city also asks that people not park along all other residential streets if possible to make clearing streets easier.

An updated forecast from the National Weather Service follows below

• Overnight: Snow with widespread blowing snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 21. Wind chill values as low as 10. Windy, with a north wind 24 to 33 mph, with gusts as high as 48 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 10 to 14 inches possible.
• Thursday: Snow with widespread blowing snow before noon, then areas of blowing snow after noon. Temperature falling to around 17 by 5pm. Wind chill values as low as zero. Windy, with a north northwest wind 26 to 33 mph, with gusts as high as 48 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
• Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 5. Wind chill values as low as -10. Windy, with a northwest wind 20 to 25 mph decreasing to 13 to 18 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph.
• Friday: Sunny, with a high near 22. Wind chill values as low as -10. Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph becoming light west in the afternoon.
• Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 5. Calm wind.

See more on Patch

• Winter Storm Draco Cancellations in Ames
• Winter Weather 101: What to Do If Storm Draco Comes to Ames