Alex Krull, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines, said about a tenth of an inch of ice accumulation is in the forecast for the Fort Dodge area.

“We are expecting travel hazards for Fort Dodge as ice reaccumulates on the roads,” Krull said.

On Monday morning there were reports of one eighth of an inch of freezing rain in northwest Iowa.

“We had a couple reports of 1/8 of an inch,” Krull said. “Some people reported a quarter of an inch on certain tree branches from Monday’s event.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
A thin layer of ice covers part of the sidewalk along Central Avenue Monday afternoon. More ice accumulation is anticipated for today.

Krull said at one point Monday morning the roads were 100 percent ice-covered.

“In Pocahontas and Carroll County we had reports that travel was completely impossible,” Krull said. “That was round one.”

Fortunately there were no major traffic incidents, according to a dispatcher at the Pocahontas County Sheriff’s Department.

As for round two, Krull expected the rain to really ramp up and turn from freezing drizzle into freezing rain after 9 p.m. Monday.

He said that it would continue throughout the morning today.

Krull said freezing rain can often be more dangerous than a snow event.

“Freezing rain is different than snow in the sense that it’s pure ice that forms on the road,” he said. “The reason this happens is because the temperatures above the surface are above freezing. That precipitation falls through that warm layer that’s above us, it melts into liquid water. What happens at the surface and the road temperatures, is they are below freezing. When this liquid precipitation makes contact with any surface below freezing, it instantly turns into ice.”

Krull added, “That’s what makes it extremely dangerous because sometimes the ice can be difficult to see on the roads. The traction is a lot less than it is with snow. That’s why these icing events can be extremely dangerous as it happens during our peak commute and traffic hours.”

Randy Will, Webster County engineer, said both county foremen were out checking the roads and seeing how the material was working as of Monday afternoon.

“We went out about 5:30 a.m. when things were slick,” he said. “All the county paved roads. We completed two rounds of sand salt mixture on them. Both foremen tell me the paved roads still have the mixture on them. There may be a few random slick spots.”

Will anticipated more of the same for today.

“The forecast calls for freezing rain from midnight until 5 a.m.,” he said. “We will likely be out after 4 a.m. tomorrow doing the same thing. That’s what we have done and those are our plans.”

Will said the county has 32 sanding trucks.

“All the trucks were out trying to scrape and put material on the roads,” he said. “That’s kind of our fleet right now. We went out full force. Everybody has a designated route.”

He said the mixture is five parts sand and one part salt.

“Almost all of our trucks have tailgate sanders,” he said. “We can fill our dump box to the maximum. It takes quite a bit of material.”

Will said it’s more difficult to treat icy roads.

“It’s different in that it’s probably more difficult,” he said. “You have to rely on putting the material down. Ice is not the most fun to be dealing with. Freezing rain with icy roads. We are doing what we can with the equipment and materials we have.”

He advised drivers to be a little more conservative.

“People have to understand to be extra cautious out there and take some extra time,” he said. “They should be able to get where they need to get. We are trying to keep ahead of it.”

The ice accumulation could cause some power outages.

As of Monday evening, no outages were reported in the Fort Dodge area, according to information on MidAmerican Energy’s website.

Sgt. Dan Charlson, with the Fort Dodge Police Department, said the roads in town were slick early Monday morning.

“This morning, when the ice came in, the roads were actually pretty slick,” Charlson said. “The side roads were really bad. The main roads were cleared by the city pretty well.”

As the day progressed, much of the ice on the roads thawed.

“The roads are actually pretty decent right now,” Charlson said Monday afternoon.

He added that there were very few accidents reported throughout the day.

“Most drivers must have been paying attention and driving slow,” he said.

The Wright County Sheriff’s Department reported a few minor accidents related to the icy roads Monday. No injuries were reported.

The Sac County Sheriff’s Department reported one minor accident in Sac City.

No serious accidents were reported in Calhoun, Humboldt, Kossuth or Palo Alto counties either.

“The state highways are much improved. The secondary roads are still completely ice covered,” said Humboldt County Dispatcher Tim Terwilliger Monday afternoon. “We had a couple cars slide off into the ditch. Nothing too serious.”

There were some falls on the ice and just “odds and ends” reported during the day, said Algona Police Chief Kendall Pals.

“There’s a good coat of ice on the sidewalks and streets,” Pals said. “Even the gravel is hard to walk on.

“We weren’t going to have school today anyway, so that worked out well.

Other schools were closed for the ice, including all Fort Dodge public and parochial, Manson Northwest Webster, Algona, Pocahontas Area, Stratford, and Emmetsburg.

Messenger reporters Joe Sutter and Peter Kaspari contributed to this story.