As people and plows remove snow from sidewalks and roads, meteorologists are warning them to prepare for brutally cold temperatures.
The storm that began Tuesday and continued into Wednesday produced around seven inches of snow in some parts of the Quad Cities area. Preliminary totals at 6 A.M. were 6.8 inches at the Quad City Airport and 4.7 at the National Weather Service in Davenport. On the high end, a trained spotter reports 8.4 inches of snow fell in rural Scott County near the Muscatine County border.
Meteorologist Andy Ervin says temperatures will drop a lot on Thursday, and the cold snap will continue through Saturday. We can expect highs in the single digits, lows from -10 to -15, and wind chills approaching -35. The weather service expects the coldest wind chills on Thursday night and Friday morning. The wind may also cause blowing and drifting snow in open areas.
An ice jam continues to affect the Rock River in Whiteside County, northeast of Como. The weather service says ice may break up quickly, leading to more ice jams and causing the river to rise with little warning.
