Winter Storm in Iowa, March 15 to 16, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Iowa, March 15 to 16, 2001
Start: 2001-03-15T00:00
End: 2001-03-16T20:00
Location: Iowa

March 15 to 16, 2001 · NWS DVN · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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: 8

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.

A strong late winter storm system developed over the Rockies and strengthened as it moved across the Mississippi Valley. Initially, as warm air surged north ahead of the storm system, the precipitation fell in the form of rain. However, as the storm system moved east of the region, brisk northwest winds ushered in much colder air, allowing the rain to change over to snow. Most of the area received between 4 and 8 inches of snow.

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 Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 14, 2:50 PM CST, 9 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 14, 2:50 PM CST, 9 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
250 PM CST WED MAR 14 2001

12Z MODELS SEEM TO HAVE INITIALIZED OK WITH THE AVN LOOKING THE BEST
FEATURE WISE AT 18Z...SAVE SURFACE MOISTURE IN BEING TOO BULLISH. 18Z
RUC CONTINUES THE TREND OF BEING FURTHER SOUTH AND IN THIS CASE A
LITTLE SLOWER. IF YOU BELIEVE THE 18Z MESOETA...THE SYSTEM IS
CONSIDERABLY FURTHER SOUTH THAN THE 12Z ETA RUN. EITHER CASE...THE CWA
WILL BE TAKING A DIRECT HIT AND IT WILL BE FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD.

IN BRIEF...SYSTEM CONSOLIDATES TONIGHT WITH A SINGLE SURFACE LOW IN
SOUTHERN KANSAS. THIS MOVES EAST NORTHEAST UP THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY
AS IT STRENGTHENS DURING THE DAY THURSDAY. PRECIP TO BREAK OUT AS RAIN
INITIALLY AND CHANGE OVER TO SNOW THURSDAY AFTERNOON/THURSDAY NIGHT.
VERY STRONG QG FORCING THROUGH A LARGE DEPTH OF THE ATMOSPHERE WITH LOW
CONDENSATION PRESSURE DEFICITS. QUESTIONABLE NOW ON WHETHER ANY TSRA
WILL DEVELOP. ITS POSSIBLE IN THE FAR SOUTH. ELSEWHERE...IT LOOKS
DOUBTFUL. STRONG CAA TO CAUSE CHANGEOVER TO SNOW BEGINNING THURSDAY
AFTERNOON IN THE WEST AND THE REST OF THE CWA THURSDAY NIGHT. AMOUNTS
VERY DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE AS IT DEPENDS ON THE TIME OF CHANGEOVER.
BIGGER PROBLEM TO BE THE WINDS. INTENSE GRADIENT WINDS OVER CWA LATE
THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY AM WITH 25 TO 40 SUSTAINED...AND GUSTS TO 50.

ALL SAID...WILL KEEP FLOOD WATCH FOR ENTIRE CWA TONIGHT/THURSDAY AS A
LARGE AMOUNT OF RAIN TO OCCUR BEFORE CHANGEOVER. WINTER STORM WATCH
WILL BE EXTENDED FOR THE ENTIRE CWA FOR THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY
MORNING. WE MAY NOT SEE THAT MUCH SNOW...BUT VERY STRONG WINDS/COLD
COMBINED WITH SNOW JUSTIFY WATCH.

EXTENDED WISE...NO TIME. WILL TAKE CURRENT EXTENDED AND ADJUST VERY
LITTLE.

COORDINATED WITH DSM...OMA...LSE...STL...CHI...ILX...MKE.

.DVN...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT AND THURSDAY ENTIRE CWA.
WINTER STORM WATCH THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY MORNING ENTIRE CWA.
IA...IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099
IL...ILZ001-002-007-009-015>018-024>026-034-035
MO...MOZ009-010

SCHULTZ

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Benton

When: March 15, 12:00 AM CST to March 16, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Benton forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.080, -92.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cedar

When: March 15, 12:00 AM CST to March 16, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Cedar forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.772, -91.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Iowa

When: March 15, 12:00 AM CST to March 16, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Iowa forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.686, -92.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jackson

When: March 15, 12:00 AM CST to March 16, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.172, -90.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Johnson

When: March 15, 12:00 AM CST to March 16, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.672, -91.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Linn

When: March 15, 12:00 AM CST to March 16, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Linn forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.079, -91.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Washington

When: March 15, 12:00 AM CST to March 16, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.336, -91.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Keokuk

When: March 15, 12:00 AM CST to March 16, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Keokuk forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in Iowa in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, March 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: 5238412, 5238413, 5238414, 5238415, 5238416, 5238417, 5238418, 5238419.