Johnston Schools Dismiss Early, Travel Not Advised: Winter Storm Rocky

With snow continuing to fall in Johnston and the Des Moines Metro area, cancellations and postponements are piling up.

The Johnston Community School District announced it would dismiss two hours early.

Buses will run two hours early. There will be no afternoon preschool, no afternoon developmental kindergarten, and no evening activities.

KTC is open; parents should pick their children up as soon as possible.

Johnston Public Works crews are out in full force, the city's Twitter account reported.

Residents are asked not to travel if they do not need to.

The city's snow ordinance is in effect as of 9 a.m.

Forecasters originally predicted just 2 inches of snow in the metro, but totals have now gone up to 3 to 6 inches.

Snow is expected to continue for the evening commute and again on Wednesday morning.

Traffic has been rough for commuters on Tuesday.

KCCI reported a semi crash on 1-80/35 at the Douglas Avenue area, blocking lanes in Urbandale.

The National Weather Service in Des Moines issued a winter weather advisory until 6 a.m. Wednesday including the Des Moines and Ames metro area.

The Weather Service issued a warning this morning as rush hour began: A band of heavy snowfall lifting northward through Central Iowa, including the Des Moines metro area. This snow, combined with winds of 20 to 30 mph will cause visibilities to be reduced to one half of a mile or less at times. Roads could become slick in some spots.

It's an odd turn for Iowa, which is dodging most of the snowstorm. So far, according to the Weather Channel, Rocky has spawned blizzard warnings in states to the southwest, closing many roads across Kansas and Oklahoma. The University of Missouri in Columbia has canceled classes for today, a foot of snow is expected in parts of the Show-Me State and the mayor of Kansas City has declared a state of emergency.

Windy conditions will continue into Wednesday, with cloudy skies and a high temp near 36 degrees.