* www.nws.noaa.gov/om/winter/index.shtml for winter 2008-2009 temperature and precipitation outlook. The site also has more information about snow, ice, cold, strong winds and wind chill.
* www.weather.gov/safety.php for weather safety tips including StormReady cities and counties, NOAA weather radio, winter weather,
* www.nws.noaa.gov/ for nationwide weather info from the National Weather Service
* www.crh.noaa.gov/dmx/, Des Moines area forecasts and information, alerts, radar views, satellite images of the area.
» Traveling: Fuel and roads
* Find the best gas prices in the Ames area, then expand your search to other travel destinations.
* www.iowadot.gov winter safety info and tips.
* http://511ia.org/ lists up-to-the-minute road conditions throughout Iowa. - Nearby states with similar 511 sites are Illinois at www.dmv.org/il-illinois/news-alerts/511.php, a private, non-governmental site; Minnesota at www.511mn.org/; Missouri at www.dmv.org/mo-missouri/news-alerts/511.php, a private, non-governmental site; Nebraska at www.nebraskatransportation.org/511/; South Dakota at www.sddot.com/511.asp; and Wisconsin at www.511wi.gov/, a brand new site. In many states freeway signs will tell you that dialing 511 on your cell phone as you travel also will connect you to current road conditions.
* www.highwayconditions.com/ia.htm gives you Iowa highway conditions as part of its Midwest site.
» Traveling by air
* Check out Des Moines International Airport information at http://www.dsmairport.com/, including flight data, parking and weather conditions.
* For air flight conditions in the Midwest visit the Federal Aviation Administration's site for the northcentral part of the U.S. at www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/ncmap.jsp. From here you can select another region and/or a specific airport.
