Ice Storm, Winneshiek
- When
- January 29, 12:00 PM CST to 9:30 PM CST
- Where
- Winneshiek forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 43.291, -91.844 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm in Iowa, January 29, 2001
Freezing rain produced ice accumulations of 1/4 to 1/2 inch, which caused slippery conditions for motorists and pedestrians. In spite of the ice, only a few automobile accidents were reported, none of which were serious.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- 1
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 ARX wrote it up.
Freezing rain produced ice accumulations of 1/4 to 1/2 inch, which caused slippery conditions for motorists and pedestrians. In spite of the ice, only a few automobile accidents were reported, none of which were serious.
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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 29, 3:06 AM CST, 8 hours 54 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 3:06 AM CST, 8 hours 54 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
306 AM CST MON JAN 29 2001
...MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM WILL BE THE MAJOR ICE STORM TODAY AND
TONIGHT...
DATA ANALYSIS SHOWING FREEZING RAIN...SLEET AND SNOW BEGINNING ACROSS
THE FORECAST AREA. THE SNOW FROM KLSE-KONA-KAEL AND NORTH...SLEET
JUST SOUTH OF THIS LINE...AND FREEZING RAIN SPREADING ACROSS
NORTHEAST IOWA AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN. HEAVIER FREEZING
RAIN FALLING ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS.
LOW PRESSURE REMAINS OVER THE SOUTH-CENTRAL PLAINS WITH A TROUGH
EXTENDING NORTHEAST FROM THIS LOW INTO THE MID MISSISSIPPI RIVER
VALLEY. MAIN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM STILL REMAINS OVER THE SOUTHWEST.
TEMPERATURES HAVE FALLEN INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS ACROSS THE NORTHERN
HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA...WITH TEENS OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE
AREA. RWIS DATA SHOWING ROAD SURFACE TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM 10
TO 15 FROM WHITEHALL AND BLACK RIVER FALLS NORTH...TO 24 ACROSS IOWA
AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN.
MODELS INITIALIZED QUITE WELL WITH THIS SYSTEM...ETA FAVORED AT 06Z
GIVEN PLACEMENT OF PRECIPITATION. ALTHOUGH PRECIPITATION
DEVELOPING OVER THE FORECAST AREA...THIS IS NOT THE MAIN EVENT.
MODERATE TO STRONG SYNOPTIC SCALE DEEP FORCING ARRIVES THIS
AFTERNOON...WHICH WILL INDUCE AT LEAST MODERATE PRECIPITATION.
FORECAST SOUNDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE
FREEZING RAIN BY THEN. MODEL QPFS RATHER OMINOUS GIVEN THE
FORECAST 24 HOUR AMOUNT OF 1/2 TO ONE INCH OF LIQUID. THIS WOULD
CAUSE SERIOUS ICING CONDITIONS BUT IT IS BELIEVABLE GIVEN THE AMOUNT
OF MOISTURE FLUX AND FORCING.
BY TONIGHT...ENOUGH WARM AIR BEING PULLED INTO THE SYSTEM TO
POSSIBLY CHANGE THE FREEZING RAIN TO RAIN ACROSS THE EXTREME
SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA (KALO-KLNR). HOWEVER...
TERRESTRIAL OBJECTS MAY STILL BE BELOW FREEZING GIVEN THE RECENT
COLD SNAP. PRECIPITATION SHOULD CONTINUE OVERNIGHT...UNTIL DRY PUNCH
WORKS ITS WAY INTO THE FORECAST AREA FROM THE SOUTH. THIS WILL SHUT
OFF THE PRECIPITATION ABOUT 30/10Z FROM KLSE-KRST SOUTH...GRADUALLY
WORKING ITS WAY NORTH DURING THE MORNING.
AS A RESULT...TUESDAY WILL BE PRIMARILY DRY...BUT SNOW WILL BE
POSSIBLE AGAIN BY TUESDAY NIGHT ACROSS THE MINNESOTA AND IOWA ZONES
AS THE STORM MOVES EAST. BY THIS TIME...MUCH COLDER AIR WILL BE
PULLED INTO THE REGION VIA NORTHWEST FLOW.
AS A RESULT OF THE IMPENDING ICE...AN ICE STORM WARNING WILL BE
ISSUED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST AREA.
COORDINATED WITH DVN/DMX/MKX/MPX/GRB.
.LSE...ICE STORM WARNING FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT...IAZ008>011-018-019-
029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ032>034-041>044-053>055-061.
ICE STORM WARNING FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...WIZ017-029.
KRCThe radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Ice Storm
- Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Avalanche in Washington, January 29, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Mississippi, January 29, 2001
- Ice Storm in Iowa, January 29, 2001
- Blizzard in South Dakota, January 29 to 30, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Texas, January 29, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, January 29, 2001
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 29 to 30, 2001
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 29 to 30, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Louisiana, January 29, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, January 29, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Mississippi, January 29, 2001
- Winter Storm and High Wind in Nebraska, January 29 to 30, 2001
More
Every storm in Iowa in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, January 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: 5228158.