First the snow, then the bitter cold

January 6, 2015 | 9:25 pm

No one could be blamed for avoiding the outdoors on Tuesday, which saw half a foot of snow on the ground and temperatures in the single digits.

Yet out there on his bike was David Martyn, a delivery driver for Jimmy Johns in Iowa City.

Buried in four layers, Smartwool socks, a face mask and ski goggles, Martyn was hauling subs by way of a stud-tired mountain bike in a five-mile radius of downtown Iowa City. The digital temperature display outside the local bank read 3 degrees.

Its not too bad, Martyn said. Just dress like you are going skiing.

That not too bad assessment could change drastically by Wednesday morning. After a fairly moderate start to the season, which saw only trace amounts of snow in December and relatively mild temperatures, winter is announcing its presence with authority this week. Roughly six inches of snow fell on the area Monday afternoon into Tuesday morning but that was only the opening salvo. Dangerously cold temperatures are expected to follow for the rest of the week.

Forecast

Awful, is how KCRG-TV9 meteorologist Kaj OMara described it.

Its going to be cold and not fun, OMara said Tuesday.

Mondays storm dropped 5 to 7 inches of snow on the region before tailing off Tuesday morning. In its wake will be the coldest temperatures of 2015, OMara said. Beginning Tuesday night, the mercury will fall to a low of -17 degrees.

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First the snow, then the bitter cold