Iowa City Weather Alert: Freezing Rain Advisory for Johnson County Through 6:00 p.m.

Update: Sunday 1:40 p.m.

The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities has issued a freezing rain advisory for several counties in Eastern Iowa, including Johnson County, until 6:00 p.m.

...FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... * TIMING...TODAY THROUGH SUNSET. * SLEET ACCUMULATIONS...LESS THAN A QUARTER OF AN INCH. * ICE ACCUMULATIONS...ONE TO TWO TENTHS OF AN INCH. * WINDS...SOUTHEAST 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH. * IMPACTS...SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCUMULATIONS ARE RESULTING IN DANGEROUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS.

Winter Weather Watch Issued Saturday

Johnson County is part of a large swath of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois current in a winter storm watch for all of Sunday.

From the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities:

...WINTER STORM WATCH NOW IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING... * TIMING...FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET WILL BEGIN SUNDAY MORNING AFTER SUNRISE. THE PRECIPITATION WILL TURN TO ALL FREEZING RAIN WITHIN A COUPLE OF HOURS OF STARTING. BY EVENING THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE MIXED RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN UNTIL THE PRECIPITATION CHANGES TO ALL RAIN BY LATE SUNDAY EVENING. * SLEET AND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...LESS THAN 1 INCH SUNDAY MORNING. * ICE ACCUMULATIONS...ONE TENTH TO AROUND ONE QUARTER OF AN INCH. * TEMPERATURES...UPPER 20S...RISING INTO THE LOWER 30S. * IMPACTS...SIGNIFICANT TRAVEL PROBLEMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP DURING THE DAY SUNDAY AS GROUND TEMPERATURES REMAIN BELOW FREEZING. THE POSSIBILITY DOES EXIST THAT THIS WATCH MAY BE UPGRADED TO AN ICE STORM WARNING.

The Weather Service notes that the extent of the winter weather and what type of precipitation it produces may change drastically based on the pattern of the approaching storm and what the temperature is in the area at the time that it hits. There are more certain warnings to the west (freezing rain advisory) and north (winter storm warning) of this area. In any case, use precaution when traveling tomorrow.

The Weather Service daily forecast has the freezing rain starting in the Iowa City area around 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, with the temperature raising above freezing by Sunday night, and a chance of fog on early Monday morning. The NWS and Weather Underground predict the temperature should rise into the 40s and 50s during next week, with more chances of rain before a return to snow and the ambivalently labelled "wintry mix."