This past weekend's blizzard brought traffic to a near halt across the state as blowing snow reduced visibilities to near zero at times. The featured chart looks at the combination of NEXRAD radar reflectivity, near surface wind speed, and observed traffic speeds from the RWIS site near Adair along Interstate 80 west of Des Moines. The chart clearly shows the impact of precipitation on traffic speeds as the arrival of snow caused traffic to slow around noon on Saturday. The situation deteriorated throughout the afternoon as more snow fell and thanks to 40 mph winds that blew around enough, eventually leading to road closure later that evening. Winds died down by Sunday morning and road crews were able to get I-80 open once again.

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Tags:   rwis   winter1011