DES MOINES, Iowa — The snow started Friday afternoon and has continued into Saturday morning with snow covering roads and causing slick conditions.
The Des Moines Police Department says between 3:30 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Saturday they responded to 34 crashes, with 6 involving minor injuries.
The Iowa State Patrol reports between noon Friday and 8 a.m. on Saturday they responded to a total of 216 calls for service. That break down looks like:
- 145- Motorist Assist
- 71 – Total Crashes Covered
- 65 – Property Damage
- 6 – Personal Injury
- 0 – Fatal
At Noon the ISP updated those numbers to:
- 249- Motorist Assist
- 105 – Total Crashes Covered
- 95 – Property Damage
- 10 – Personal Injury
- 0 – Fatal
The Iowa DOT 511 website is reporting almost all metro area roads completely covered or partially covered. The Iowa DOT has dozens of plows out working to clear and lay material on roads.
The Iowa DOT has been preparing for the storm all week. Officials Saturday morning advised drivers to stay off the roads if possible, saying those who must travel should go slow and leave plenty of distance between other cars and plows.
Above are two images taken from Iowa DOT 511 Cameras showing conditions along Interstate 80 and Interstate 35/80 around 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The above left image shows a jack-knifed semi blocking the road and the above right image shows white out conditions along a road the DOT marked as impassable…