Heavy Snow, Benton
- When
- December 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 in Iowa, December 20, 2000
Yet another Alberta Clipper storm chugged into the upper Midwest during the early morning hours of 12/20, this time tracking from the high Plains into Minnesota and Wisconsin. The system brought periods of heavy snow to the area.
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
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.
Yet another Alberta Clipper storm chugged into the upper Midwest during the early morning hours of 12/20, this time tracking from the high Plains into Minnesota and Wisconsin. The system brought periods of heavy snow to the area. The snow began in east central and northeast Iowa around sunrise, and then spread south and east through the morning hours. The heaviest amounts of 3 to 5 inches fell along and north of a line from Sigourney Iowa, to the Quad Cities, to Sterling/Rock Falls. 1 to 3 inch amounts were common to the south and east. The snow once again kept area law enforcement officials busy, with many accidents across the area. The snow had tapered to flurries by midnight. As low pressure headed off to the northeast, a northwest wind picked up to 20 to 30 miles an hour during the overnight, and produced bitterly cold wind chills of 30 to 45 below zero, as actual temperatures dropped into the single digits. Blowing and drifting snow continued into the day on 12/21.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
21 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Buchanan
- When
- December 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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 20, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM 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
- Frost and Freeze in Florida, December 20, 2000
- Blizzard in North Dakota, December 20, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 20, 2000
- Frost and Freeze in Florida, December 20 to 21, 2000
- Winter Storm in Mississippi, December 20 to 21, 2000
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, December 20, 2000
- Blizzard in Minnesota, December 20, 2000
- High Surf in Hawaii, December 20 to 27, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Maine, December 20, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 20 to 22, 2000
- Winter Storm in Maine, December 20, 2000
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, December 20, 2000
More
Every storm in Iowa in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5178554, 5178555, 5178556, 5178557, 5178558, 5178559, 5178560, 5178561, 5178562, 5178563, 5178564, 5178565, 5178566, 5178567, 5178568, 5178569, 5178570, 5178571, 5178572, 5178573, 5178574.