Up to 6 inches of snow hits Jasper County

The first snowfall of the winter came Friday afternoon and continued into the morning, canceling evening activities for a majority school districts and creating dangerous driving conditions.

The storm began sweeping through central Iowa around 2 p.m. Friday, causing a slow commute home for drivers. Some cars were stranded overnight on Interstate 80 after drivers lost control of their vehicles and slid off the road.

Despite the rough conditions on a Friday evening, just a handful of minor accidents in city limits were reported, according to Lt. Ron Cook of the Newton Police Department.

The National Weather Service in Des Moines reported parts of Jasper County received up to 6 inches of snow. Isolated areas in northern Iowa received more than a foot of snow with the highest recorded total being 14 inches.

Children had all weekend to enjoy the wintery weather and didn’t waste any time to put on snow gear and make their way to a nearby hill.

Sunset Park in Newton was the place to be as kids built a large snowman Friday night only to return the next morning to find it destroyed.

However, spirits were still up and the park’s hill had kids — and their parents — sledding and snowboarding down it all weekend before having to go back to school Monday morning.

Contact Alex Olp at aolp@newtondailynews.com