Winter Storm Coming to Marion Thursday: How Many Inches of Snow?

So Marion may have several inches of snow to look forward Thursday night.

Linn-Mar students, cross your fingers!

Yes it's still uncertain out there when it comes to predicting an oncoming winter storm. That a storm is coming seems certain, but if it will miss Marion with the heavier portion is still up for debate.

There is a winter storm watch currently declared through Friday for counties to the north and west of Marion and Linn County, but that places Marion right on the edge should the storm shift southward.

The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities has the storm rumbling through our area late Thursday, but currently with wintry mixed results:

• Thursday Snow, mainly after noon. High near 26. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
• Thursday Night: Snow before midnight, then snow likely, possibly mixed with freezing drizzle. Low around 23. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

At the moment, the line of demarcation between snow and freezing rain appears to be Interstate 80, with snow happening to the north, which means that Marion will probably get a bit of both, with the temperatures maybe staying cold enough to favor a bit more snow:

A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SNOW TO THE OUTLOOK AREA THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION WILL BE POSSIBLE BY THURSDAY NIGHT...WITH LATEST INDICATIONS SUGGESTING THAT THE BULK OF THE ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL OCCUR THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING. IN ADDITION...SOME FREEZING DRIZZLE OR LIGHT FREEZING RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE LATE THURSDAY NIGHT AND INTO EARLY FRIDAY MORNING AFTER THE ACCUMULATING SNOW WINDS DOWN. THE FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL LIKELY BE MORE PREVALENT ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80.

The KCRG weather team has it staying cold and windy today with highs in the teens. They also predict three to six inches with blowing snow to hit Eastern Iowa on Thursday:

The cold and the wind are the big talking points for today's weather.  Highs will struggle to reach the middle teens over northern Iowa, with upper teens farther south.  Either way, the 20-30 mph northwest winds will make it feel like 0 or below for most, if not all, of the day.  Quiet weather is still expected for Wednesday and right into Thursday morning.  The storm system approaching is looking like it will affect our region with snow from mid-afternoon Thursday through the day on Friday.  At this time, it appears a band of 3-6" of snow is likely across eastern Iowa with wind causing blowing and drifting snow.  The weekend still looks quiet, with the next storm system quick to follow on Monday.

In the good news department, the temperatures look to be picking up by next week, with highs near 40 forecasted a week from now.