Stay Weather Aware!
Travel is not advised in northwest Iowa and I-35 has been closed as major highways and interstates deal with blizzard-like conditions.
As of 5:42 p.m. Friday, large portions of the northwest corner of the state are labeled "impassable" by the Iowa Department of Transportation road conditions map. The DOT closed I-35 Friday afternoon, in both directions due to blizzard conditions. DOt anticipates that I-35 will be closed until "sometime Saturday morning."
"The wind is really starting to cause some problems out there. More roadways have been upgraded to Travel Not Advised, and a few areas are impassable," the DOT said Friday afternoon. "If you can avoid travel today, please do."
A few select areas of northern and northwestern Iowa are colored red, meaning roads are "impassable."
A Blizzard Warning in Minnesota has closed many of the state's roads.
The easiest way to check real-time road conditions is to visit Iowa 511's website.
The service does not include county roads or city streets, but road conditions for participating Iowa counties can be found here.
The Iowa 511 website provides a color-coded map showing how winter weather is affecting major roadways. Conditions range from seasonal (green) —signifying typical day-to-day winter road conditions—to impassable (red).
Alternatively, you can dial 511 when within Iowa, or 800-288-1047 from any location, to receive information from the 511 system. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Winter road condition information is available from Oct. 15 through April 15. According to the Iowa DOT, road condition information is updated every two hours or as conditions change.
Iowa 511 services are also available when winter weather isn't on the forecast. Call or visit the website year-round for information regarding construction, maintenance, crashes, detours and more.
