Fort Dodge Messenger, IA
11-10-06
Weather keeps area kids home Friday
Schools close, flights delayed in winter storm
By OBAID KHAWAJA, Messenger staff writer
Snow that hit northern and northwestern parts of the state early Friday
afternoon had drifted into Webster and its surrounding counties by
midmorning, causing delays and cancellations at schools and airports.
In north central Iowa, Palo Alto County was hit hardest with 8 to 10 inches
of snow falling by about 1 p.m.
Elsewhere in Messengerland, parent-teacher conferences and staff
training sessions earlier in the week led many schools to cancel classes
Friday. Manson Northwest Webster Community School, Humboldt
Community School and Pocahontas Area Community School all had
Friday off to make up for conferences or training during the week.
‘‘We get rain throughout the year (and) it’s just cold enough for some of
that to fall as snow,’’ said Bill Gutowski, a meteorology professor Iowa
State University.
‘‘As far as I know, it’s pretty much a garden variety storm, something you
expect this time of year.’’
Moisture moving from the south is believed to have mixed with cool air
from the north causing precipitation across the state. In Emmetsburg, a
meteorological phenomenon known as ‘‘thundersnow’’ was reported and is
believed to have been triggered by a thunderstorm that was moving
through the area.
‘‘In this case, it was cold enough to where it snowed,’’ said Steve
Teachout, an employee at the National Weather Service. ‘‘And anytime
you get a thunderstorm, you’re going to get a lot of snow.’’
Laurens-Marathon Community School was scheduled for early dismissal
Friday and canceled classes because of heavy snowfall.
‘‘We try to make the announcement as soon as we can,’’ said Fred
Johnson, assistant to the superintendent at Laurens-Marathon Community
School. ‘‘I guess with the early dismissal already planned, it was the best
decision.’’
The school has already Dec. 22 scheduled as a snow day to make up for
Friday’s classes.
Even though no classes were canceled or dismissed early in the Fort
Dodge area, there was a brief delay at the Fort Dodge Municipal Airport.
‘‘The airlines were a little delayed because the visibility was low,’’ said
airport Director Rhonda Chambers. ‘‘We’ve had a couple of private planes
come in.’’
A flight from Fort Dodge to Minneapolis, Minn., scheduled for 11 a.m. was
postponed for a couple of hours while airport crews cleared the runways.
Throughout the day, a mix of precipitation, including snow, sleet, hail and
rain, was reported around the state and rain continued in the southeast
portion of the state through the evening.
The National Weather Service predicted the temperature in Fort Dodge
was slated to drop to 13 or 14 degrees Friday night — the coolest
temperature forecasted for north central Iowa during the next few days.