Winter storm and flood watches issued | News

Counties in and around the Quad Cities are under winter storm and flood watches through Wednesday afternoon.

Rain will turn to snow and temperatures will drop during the storm.

The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities issued a winter storm watch at 11 a.m. Tuesday, January 29, 2013.  The winter storm watch is in effect from midnight Tuesday night through Wednesday afternoon.

The watch issued Tuesday morning includes Clinton, Muscatine, Scott, Louisa, Henry (Iowa), Van Buren, JoDaviess, Jefferson, Washington, Cedar, Johnson, Jackson, Jones, Dubuque, Stephenson, Carroll, Whiteside, Rock Island, Mercer and Scotland counties in our area.

The National Weather Service predicts wind speeds of 15 to 25 miles per hour with occasional gusts over 35 miles per hour.  That could drop wind chill readings below zero. 

Visibility will also be reduced, especially in open and rural locations, as those winds blow sleet and then snow. 

Sleet will accumulation first, followed by snow that could reach depths of two to seven inches, depending on your location. 

“A winter storm watch means there is a potential for significant snow, sleet and/or ice accumulations that would seriously impact travel,” according to the NWS website. 

Tuesday’s rainfall on frozen ground, coupled with ice jams on smaller rivers and streams, prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flood watch for more than a dozen area counties. 

Counties included in the flood watch issued Tuesday morning are Des Moines, Lee, Whiteside, Rock Island, Henry (Illinois), Bureau, Putnam, Mercer, Henderson, Warren, Hancock, McDonough and Clark counties. 

“Larger rivers are running quite low and will mostly absorb this rainfall,” the NWS site said.  “Small and medium-sized rivers and streams are likely to respond quickly and possibly flood.  Ice jams due to melting and ice breakup will contribute to the flood potential on some rivers.”

The flood watch was in effect through Tuesday evening.

Get the latest forecast any time at http://wqad.com/weather/