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IOWA -- The Iowa Department of Public Safety is discouraging travel in the state of Iowa overnight tonight.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is pulling snow plows off the roads at 6PM tonight and Lee County has pulled plows off the road as of 2:30PM Thursday afternoon.  Crews are having extreme difficulty keeping up with the blowing snow. 

As of 3PM on Thursday, Iowa Highway 16 is closed west of Houghton due to drifts up to four foot high.  Highway 34 west of Mt.Pleasant is also closed and going is very slow on Highway 27/218 due to semi trucks being blown over, due to high winds.

The Department of Public Safety's Division of the Iowa State Patrol is prepared to work though a dangerous blizzard .

"The smartest, safest thing Iowans can do tonight and tomorrow is avoid traveling--in town or on the highways and interstates," Colonel David Garrison, Iowa State Patrol, said. "The National Weather Service clearly states this will be a dangerous storm with high winds and low visibility. Do yourself a favor and stay in this evening."