See the latest weather conditions from the National Weather Service.
Trey Pitre of Alden filled up his semi at a gas station in Fort Dodge Thursday afternoon, already weather-weary from getting stranded in the snow in western Iowa on Monday. He drove through more snowy roads on Wednesday and geared up for another round packed with cold and dangerous wind chills forecasted through early the next week.
“It held out for so long, and it was so warm, and we thought that we weren't going to get hit with it at all. And it feels a little bit like karma," Pitre said behind the wheel of his rig at a Sinclair station along Hwy. 20. "But it came, and it hit hard. Really hard. I miss Texas. I like the heat. I don't like this."
Pitre said some truck drivers don’t have a choice but to stay the course and keep working through the elements.
However, Woodbury County Emergency Management’s Michael Montino stressed that everyone should think twice about going out in the next few days.
“This can be dangerous at times. So, we recommend that people take appropriate precautions and do what they can to keep themselves and their families safe,” Montino said as he stood outside in single-digit temperatures before the cold front moved through. “We're going to see those wind chills drop into the negatives.”
Montino expected the wind chill index to reach -40 in northwest Iowa, so he recommended people avoid long-term exposure outside to avoid hypothermia and frostbite that can start to form in as little as 10 minutes.
“Midwest is very much used to getting snowfall that's pretty common out here," Montino said. "What makes this different is those higher wind speeds that are going to be kicking up the snow and causing visibility issues, but also that very, very cold temperature and that is one of the most dangerous features of a storm like this.”
But for people like Pitre, who must go out on the road, Montino offered this advice.
“We want to make sure that you're prepared we recommend having a winter preparedness kit in your car," he said. "This might include sand, a shovel, snacks, warm blankets, a battery-powered radio and a flashlight.”
The National Weather Service says storms of this magnitude are “fairly rare” and usually only occur once or twice per decade. Even so, Pitre planned to go unless the DOT closed the road.
“For a lot of four-wheelers. I think that they probably should just be at home, for us. We have a job to do, and it has to be done,” Pitre added. "You know, so we have to be out there. Sometimes, we just don't have a lot of choice, even if we're supposed to feel like it."
Polk County Emergency Management said for commuters who needed a safe place to pull off and park, several locations were available in the Des Moines metro area, including Prairie Meadows and truck stops in Altoona, Urbandale and Clive. They also activated its extreme temperature plan with DART offering free rides to and from warming centers.
Montino provided other ways to stay safe at home besides staying indoors and warm.
“Make sure that you take a walk around your house or your business, and make sure your vents are cleared. When we have this much snowfall, we tend to get vents that get covered up, and the carbon monoxide starts to leach back into the house,” he said.
Montino also said to avoid warming homes with any open flames from propane heaters, gas heaters or gas stoves.
And with the cold expected to stick around through Tuesday, he advises anyone going out on caucus night to bundle up.
