DES MOINES – An early morning icy glaze, topped with a fluffy layer of snow closed schools and caused some slippery driving Thursday as a winter storm blew across Iowa.

Several inches of snow had fallen in the northern part of the state. Only ice layered parts of southeast Iowa, while a mix of ice, snow and sleet fell in central Iowa, officials with the National Weather Service said.

A break in the weather midmorning was expected to give way to a second band of snow across the state, said Gary Forster, a forecaster with the weather service.

“It should bring another inch or two in most areas,” he said. “Up north, 5-inch amounts are common. We should end up with 3-4 inch totals here in Des Moines.”

The snow was expected to end by early evening, giving way to gusty wind and bitterly cold temperatures.

“We’re going to see wind chills that we haven’t seen this year,” Forster said.

The wind chill index overnight Thursday was expected to plunge to 20 below zero in some areas, he said.

Low temperatures by Saturday morning could be 15 below zero near Estherville up north to around zero at Lamoni, near the Missouri border, he said.

Weekend temperatures won’t get out of the teens, but are expected to moderate into the 20s by the middle of next week, Forster said.