Iowa, 2001

Winter Storm in Iowa, February 24 to 25, 2001

February 24 to 25, 2001 · NWS FSD · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Considerable freezing rain fell, producing icing which caused many vehicles to slide off roads. Scattered tree and power line damage was reported.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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 FSD wrote it up.

Considerable freezing rain fell, producing icing which caused many vehicles to slide off roads. Scattered tree and power line damage was reported. The freezing rain was followed by snow, which produced accumulations ranging from less than an inch to near 4 inches. Winds gusting to over 40 mph accompanied and followed the snowfall, greatly reducing visibilities in blowing snow and causing drifting snow. The icing combined with the blowing and drifting snow made travel impossible in some areas. Some businesses were forced to close.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 10:50 AM CST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 10:50 AM CST, 3 hours 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
1050 AM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

PREV FCST ON THE MARK OVERALL...BUT HAVE UPDATED TO REMOVE FRZG
DRZL ADVY AND TO PUSH BACK WINTER PRECIP AND WARNING TIL LATE IN
AFTN MOST AREAS. EXPCT MAJOR DVLPMT WITH BOMBOGENESIS SE OF CWA BY
EVE...WITH ONLY THE AVN MODEL TOO FAR E WITH QPF THIS EVE. PLENTY OF
GULF MOISTURE AND NEG TILT DYNAMICS TO WORK WITH ON THIS FAIRLY FAST
MOVG SYS LATE THIS AFTN INTO TNGT.

.FSD...VARIOUS WSW HEADLINES THROUGH THE FSD CWA...CHECK THE LATEST
    FSDWSWFSD.

RSR

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Buena Vista

When
February 24, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Buena Vista forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
42.736, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cherokee

When
February 24, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Cherokee forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
42.736, -95.624 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clay

When
February 24, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
43.083, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dickinson

When
February 24, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Dickinson forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
43.378, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ida

When
February 24, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Ida forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
42.387, -95.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, O'Brien

When
February 24, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
O'Brien forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
43.084, -95.625 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Osceola

When
February 24, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Osceola forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
43.379, -95.624 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Plymouth

When
February 24, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Plymouth forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
42.738, -96.214 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sioux

When
February 24, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Sioux forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
43.083, -96.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Woodbury

When
February 24, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Woodbury forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
42.390, -96.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lyon

When
February 24, 6:00 PM CST to February 25, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Lyon forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
43.381, -96.210 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Iowa in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, February 2001

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: 5233355, 5233356, 5233357, 5233358, 5233359, 5233361, 5233362, 5233363, 5233364, 5233365, 5233360.