Heavy Snow, Cedar
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Cedar forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.772, -91.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 9 to 10, 1997
A strong winter storm dumped heavy snow over portions of Southeast Iowa and West Central Illinois resulting in numerous school closures and minor accidents. Most locations received from 3 to 6 inches of snow with isolated heavier amounts up to 8 inches.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 15 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
- 15
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 strong winter storm dumped heavy snow over portions of Southeast Iowa and West Central Illinois resulting in numerous school closures and minor accidents. Most locations received from 3 to 6 inches of snow with isolated heavier amounts up to 8 inches.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
15 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Clayton
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Clayton forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.845, -91.341 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Clinton
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Clinton forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.898, -90.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Des Moines
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Des Moines forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Henry
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Henry forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.988, -91.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Iowa
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Iowa forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.686, -92.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Jefferson
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Jefferson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Johnson
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Johnson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.672, -91.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Keokuk
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Keokuk forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Lee
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Lee forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.642, -91.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Louisa
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Louisa forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Muscatine
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Muscatine forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.484, -91.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Scott
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Scott forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.637, -90.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Van Buren
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Van Buren forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.753, -91.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Washington
- When
- December 9, 5:00 PM CST to December 10, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Washington forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.336, -91.718 (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
- Hurricane in Guam, December 9 to 16, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 9 to 10, 1997
- Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Kansas, December 9 to 24, 1997
- Dense Fog in Kentucky, December 9, 1997
- Dense Fog in Illinois, December 9, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Kansas, December 9, 1997
- Dense Fog in Missouri, December 9, 1997
- Winter Storm in Missouri, December 9, 1997
- High Wind in California, December 9 to 11, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 9 to 10, 1997
- Dense Fog in Indiana, December 9, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, December 9, 1997
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, December 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5621901, 5621902, 5621903, 5621904, 5621905, 5621906, 5621907, 5621908, 5621909, 5621910, 5621911, 5621912, 5621913, 5621914, 5621915.