Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 18 to 19, 2000

Name: Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 18 to 19, 2000
Start: 2000-12-18T04:00
End: 2000-12-19T06:00
Location: Iowa

December 18 to 19, 2000 · NWS DVN · 21 events in 21 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 21 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 21

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.

Another Alberta Clipper storm system moved southeast into the plains during the early morning hours of 12/18. The storm, coupled with a strong upper-level jet, brought more significant snow to the area, beginning before sunrise in northeast Iowa, and spreading east through the day. Along and north of the Interstate 80 corridor, 3 to 5 inch snowfall totals were common, with some isolated amounts near 6 inches, before the snow tapered to flurries Monday night. South of the I-80 corridor, snowfall totals generally ranged from 2 to 4 inches. A strong northwest wind raked the area Monday night in the wake of the storm. Winds of 20 to 30 miles an hour produced considerable blowing and drifting of the light, fluffy snow. Accidents were widespread across the area on 12/18 and 12/19. Three people were injured after being thrown from their vehicle in a two-car accident in Dubuque county during the morning of 12/18. Two other accidents involved school buses in Scott and Benton counties sliding off the road on 12/18. There were no serious injuries in those accidents, nor in other accidents reported by area law enforcement. The strong northwest wind combined with temperatures near zero to produce wind chills values as low as 40 below zero during the evening hours of 12/18 and the early morning of 12/19.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

21 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Benton

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Benton forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.080, -92.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Buchanan

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Buchanan forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.471, -91.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cedar

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Cedar forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.772, -91.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Clinton

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Clinton forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.898, -90.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Delaware

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.471, -91.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Des Moines

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Des Moines forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Dubuque

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Dubuque forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.469, -90.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Henry

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Henry forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.988, -91.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Iowa

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Iowa forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.686, -92.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Jackson

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.172, -90.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Jefferson

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Johnson

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.672, -91.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Jones

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Jones forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.121, -91.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Keokuk

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Keokuk forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lee

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.642, -91.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Linn

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Linn forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.079, -91.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Louisa

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Louisa forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Muscatine

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Muscatine forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.484, -91.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Scott

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Scott forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.637, -90.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Van Buren

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Van Buren forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.753, -91.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Washington

When: December 18, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
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

Every storm in Iowa in 2000 Every state in 2000 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, December 2000

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: 5178347, 5178348, 5178349, 5178350, 5178351, 5178352, 5178353, 5178354, 5178355, 5178356, 5178357, 5178358, 5178359, 5178360, 5178361, 5178362, 5178483, 5178484, 5178485, 5178486, 5178487.