Weather Watch: 8:50 a.m. updates

Saturday 8:50 a.m. Update: The winter storm has finally arrived in Southwest Iowa and has already brought several inches of snow in many areas.

National Weather Service/NOAA

Here's the latest snowfall prediction forecast for the next 48 hours. This was as of 5 a.m. Friday.

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The rain switched over to snow shortly after midnight. A co-op observer in Red Oak reported that 2.9 inches of snow had fallen as of 7 a.m. Saturday morning, according to a storm report from the National Weather Service. Two inches was reported in Clarinda, 4.9 in Hastings and five inches was reported in Glenwood.

All highways around Southwest Iowa, including US-34, US-71, I-6, I-92, US-59 and I-80, have been reported as being completely covered by snow, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Because of today's snowfall, today's wrestling sectionals, which are to be held in Creston, have been delayed for a couple of hours. Wrestling sectionals will now start at 2 p.m. Weigh-ins will start at noon. Meanwhile, the wrestling sectionals at Harlan, Neola and Riverside have both been postponed until Monday.

It is possible that we could receive an additional 3-5 inches of snow during the daytime. The snow will likely taper off around 9 p.m.

Friday 4:40 p.m. Update: Parts of Southwest Iowa are now under a winter storm warning. Counties under the warning now include Montgomery, Mills, Cass and Pottawattamie Counties. The warning goes into effect at midnight tonight and will go until midnight Saturday night.

Southwest Iowa could now get as much as 5-8 inches of snow, which will likely start some time after midnight.

Red Oak will go into a snow emergency starting at midnight tonight.

Page and Fremont Counties remain under a winter weather advisory for now.

Friday 9:30 a.m. Update: We've added a chart, courtesy of the National Weather Service, which shows the snowfall prediction for the next 48 hours around Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa.

OMAHA — The National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Omaha has issued a winter storm watch for much of Western Iowa and Eastern Nebraska.

The watch will go into effect from Friday night until Saturday night. Counties affected by the winter storm watch include Montgomery, Mills, Cass, Pottawattamie, Fremont and Adams. As of Thursday morning, Page County was not under any bulletin.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), a storm system will move into the region starting Friday, which will bring rain and snow. The rain will change over to snow Friday evening and will stay that way until Saturday evening.

Current projections from NWS indicate Southwest Iowa could receive as much as six inches of snow. However, there's uncertainty for many areas as to when that rain will change over to snow on Friday.

Depending on when it switches over will determine whether Southwest Iowa receives higher or lower snowfall totals.

Friday's forecast calls mainly for rain. New rainfall amounts of a tenth to a quarter of an inch might be possible for daytime Friday. For Friday night, the area will start with rain, then change to rain and snow. One-to-two inches of snow is possible for then.

Saturday it will change to all snow. With winds out of the northeast between 18-20 MPH, there will be blowing snow possible as well. This will make travel difficult, reducing visibility to possibly a half a mile at times.

Temperatures from Friday night to Saturday evening will stay in the 30s, right around the freezing mark.

There will be a 20 percent chance of showers for Thursday night, but that won't be until after midnight.

We're monitoring all the latest forecasts for the weekend. So keep the Red Oak Express website bookmarked in your browser, or check out our Facebook page for the latest forecast updates and weather bulletins.