Heavy Snow in Iowa, March 7 to 8, 1998

A powerful storm system developed over the southern Rockies and advanced into the southern Plains. The storm moved northeast across Missouri into Illinois leaving Iowa in the deformation zone for an extended period of time. While the low was advancing northeast, a strong Arctic high pressure cell located over northern Canada dropped southeast toward the U.S. The high was near 1055 mb, while the low pressure was near 990 mb. This resulted in a tight pressure gradient over Iowa through the storm. An initial area of light snow advanced across the state and changed to freezing rain and sleet over the southwest and central counties during the evening of the 7th. The ice accumulation was not very significant however. The precipitation changed over to snow during the late evening and early morning hours. By the predawn hours of the 8th, significant snow was falling over a large part of southwest into central Iowa. During the late night hours into the early morning of the 8th, the snow became convective with thundersnow reported as far north as central Iowa. Winds increased on the 8th with north winds of 30 to 50 MPH reported over all of Iowa on the 8th into the 9th. The snow was very wet in consistency. As a result, there was considerable drifting and some blowing. True blizzard conditions did not occur over a widespread area, but were reported locally. The winds caused huge drifts which blocked most east to west highways in the state. Snowfall over the area affected ranged from 8 to 12 inches in most areas. Heavier amounts were reported over central into southwest Iowa. Numerous reports of 12 to 14 inches were received in a 30 mile wide area extending from Des Moines, southwest to the southwest Iowa border. One of the heaviest storm total snowfall reports came from Windsor Heights with 15.4 inches. Indianola and Perry both reported between 13.5 and 14 inches of snow. Some unofficial reports from around the Creston area were received in the 20 inch range. Sixteen inches was reported in Clarke County and also in Carroll County. With the large amounts of snow and the winds, drifts of 15 to 20 feet in depth were common. The heavy drifts closed most highways in the state on the 8th. One death occurred. An 81 year old Female died of exposure when she attempted to travel from the Osceola Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to the Calvery Bible Church. Churches were closed over a large part of Iowa. Shopping malls were closed for the entire day Sunday. School districts were already closing on Sunday for Mondays classes. Many schools remained closed for 2 to 3 days. Hundreds of people were stranded by the snow and forced to stay put for one to two days. Spotty power outages occurred, but there were no reports of widespread power outages. With conditions as they were, a few areas were without power for 4 days. The storm was costly in terms of snow removal. The State of Iowa estimated the storm cost $4 million to clear highways. Four days after the snow fell, the Iowa D.O.T. reported in excess of 1000 miles of highway still blocked by snow. The National Guard was called out to help rescue people as well. Eleven counties were declared disaster areas by the State of Iowa. They were Polk, Adams, Madison, Warren, Mills, Montgomery, Adams, Union, Clarke, Page, and Taylor. Following the storm, Arctic air swept into the state to make matters worse. Temperatures dipped to -24 at Bedford and Guthrie Center on the morning of the 12th. These temperatures were both the coldest ever recorded so late in the season. Most of the state fell below zero for at least one to two nights following the storm. It is significant to note that following the very mild weather conditions of February, flowering plants and trees were fairly advanced. Serious damage occurred to much of the state fruit crop, however true extent will not be known for many months.\