Heavy Snow, Keokuk
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Keokuk forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Iowa, April 10 to 12, 1997
A foot to a foot and a half of heavy wet snow fell in several waves of heavy snow. Snow was heavy enough to cause the collapse of many roofs.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 13 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 13
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS DVN wrote it up.
A foot to a foot and a half of heavy wet snow fell in several waves of heavy snow. Snow was heavy enough to cause the collapse of many roofs. Most of the roofs were those of sheds, barns, and carports but some well built flat roofed businesses were also damaged along with many area trees. Winds remained under 15 mph throughout the event and this combined with the heavy nature of the snow kept drifting to a minimum. Perhaps the greatest impact of the storm was that most cities had to re-tool their trucks for snow removal after many of them had just modified them for summer duty. The late season snow also slowed sand bagging efforts on the Mississippi River.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
13 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Washington
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Washington forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.336, -91.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Louisa
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Louisa forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Jefferson
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Henry
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Henry forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.988, -91.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Des Moines
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Des Moines forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Van Buren
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Van Buren forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.753, -91.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Lee
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lee forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.642, -91.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Iowa
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Iowa forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.686, -92.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Johnson
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Johnson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.672, -91.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Cedar
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cedar forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.772, -91.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Muscatine
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Muscatine forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.484, -91.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Scott
- When
- April 10, 6:00 AM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Scott forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.637, -90.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in Kansas, April 10 to 11, 1997
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Texas, April 10, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, April 10 to 11, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, April 10, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Missouri, April 10 to 11, 1997
- Frost and Freeze in Virginia, April 10, 1997
- Winter Weather in Kansas, April 10, 1997
- Frost and Freeze in West Virginia, April 10, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, April 10 to 11, 1997
- Frost and Freeze in Maryland, April 10, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, April 10 to 11, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, April 10 to 11, 1997
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, April 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5592342, 5592343, 5592344, 5592345, 5592346, 5592347, 5592348, 5592349, 5592350, 5592351, 5592352, 5592353, 5592354.