Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 28 to 29, 2000

An unusually strong Alberta Clipper storm tracked southeast through Iowa into central Illinois and spread some locally heavy snow over parts of eastern Iowa and western Illinois. The snow began in east central Iowa during the mid-morning on December 28th, then spread eastward into western Illinois during the afternoon. West of the Mississippi River, much of the snow ended before dawn on the 29th, but snow on the back side of the system persisted during the morning hours along and east of the river. Storm total snowfall amounts of 4 to 6 inches were common across the area, with some locally higher amounts. 8 inches fell in Cedar county, and 7 inches in Muscatine and Jones counties. Due to the prolonged nature of the event, only two counties, Cedar and Muscatine, reached winter storm warning criteria. The threshold is 6 inches in a 12 hour period or 8 inches in a 24 hour period. In southeast Iowa, snowfall amounts ranged from 2 to 5 inches. Area law enforcement handled numerous accidents across the area. Traffic was backed up on Interstate 80 near Bettendorf after a semi-trailer jackknifed during the evening of the 29th. No one was injured.