Winter Storm in Iowa, January 30 to 31, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Iowa, January 30 to 31, 2002
Start: 2002-01-30T03:00
End: 2002-01-31T07:00
Location: Iowa

January 30 to 31, 2002 · NWS DVN · 16 events in 16 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 16 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: 16

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.

Less than one week removed from record warmth, a late January winter storm brought the region it's first dose of significant winter precipitation. The storm system developed over Southern California and then lifted east northeast through the Mid Mississippi Valley Wednesday into early Thursday producing heavy snow and icy conditions. The precipitation initially fell in the form of sleet and freezing rain along and south of Highway 34. Significant ice accumulations of 1/4 to 1/2 inch were reported with scattered power outages. Downed trees were also reported. Eventually the ice changed to snow in Southeast Iowa where the highest accumulations occurred. Amounts generally ranged from 8 to 13 inches. Further north heavy snow fell as far north as Highway 30, where 6 to 10 inches was common. The heavy snow and ice caused many schools to close. Many activities were either cancelled or postponed. Also, the winter weather was responsible for cancellations of several flights at the Quad City International Airport. There were numerous accidents with 2 indirect fatalities. One hand injury was reported when a man put his hand in a snow auger to unclog the heavy, wet 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 Jan 30, 3:00 AM CST, 0 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 3:00 AM CST, 0 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
300 AM CST WED JAN 30 2002

.OVERVIEW...ABBREVIATED DISCUSSION DUE TO WORKLOAD ISSUES OF
COORDINATION AND COMPLEXITY OF SYSTEM.  BIGGEST CHALLENGES ARE MINOR
RUN TO RUN VARIANCES IN MODELS REGARDING LOW LEVEL TEMPS AND AMOUNT
OF PRECIPITATION.  WILL MAKE MINOR CHANGES TO ZONES AS APPEARS
FORECAST FAIRLY CLOSE WITH LATEST RUNS SUPPORTING DECISIONS MADE
PAST COUPLE OF FORECAST CYCLES.  BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS THE LONG
DURATION OF STORM WITH MOST AFFECTED OVER A 36 TO 48 HOUR PERIOD.

THIS LEADS TO EXPANDING WARNING SOUTH OF A STERLING TO IOWA CITY
AXIS AND KEEPING WATCH NORTH DUE TO QUESTIONS WHEN PRECIPITATION
BEGINS THERE AND LIGHTER SNOW AMOUNTS.  PLAN FOR HEAVIES SNOW AMOUNTS
SLIGHTLY FURTHER SOUTH ALONG A HENNEPIN TO FAIRFIELD AXIS WILL GO
WITH 8 TO 12 WITH ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS.  NORTH OF THIS AREA WILL
GO WITH 6 TO 10 STORM TOTALS WHICH INCLUDES THE QUAD CITIES AREA.
FAR SOUTH SECTIONS WILL SEE MIXTURE WITH FORTUNATELY LOW LEVEL
THERMAL FIELDS A TAD COLDER.  WILL LOOK AT NOWCAST TOOLS NEXT HOUR
OR SO AS GROUND REPORTS COME AND ATTEMPT TO ADJUST FORECAST SUCH AS
REPORT FROM LOCATION JUST SOUTH OF MUSCATINE GETTING SLEET AND SNOW
MIXTURE WITH GROUND GETTING WHITE WHICH IS NOTEWORTHY SINCE THAT
AREA IS SUPPOSE TO BE AT LEAST 2 DEGREES CELSIUS BELOW FREEZING ALL
THE WAY UP.

AGAIN HIT HARD IN WSW AND SIG WEATHER OUTLOOK IMPACTS AS THIS
STORM AND UNCERTAINTIES...ESPECIALLY PRECIPITATION TYPE AND IMPACT
ON AMOUNTS.

WILL LEAVE LATER SECTIONS FOR DAY SHIFT TO LOOK AT.

COORDINATED WITH LSX...ILX...DSM...CHI...LSE...THANKS.

.DVN...
IA...WINTER STORM WATCH ALONG AND NORTH OF MAQUOKETA TO IOWA CITY
LINE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT.
WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT SOUTH OF A
MAQUOKETA TO IOWA CITY LINE.
IL...WINTER STORM WATCH ALONG AND NORTH OF MT CARROLL TO FREEPORT
LINE FOR TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT.
WINTER STORM WARNING SOUTH OF MT CARROLL TO FREEPORT LINE TODAY
THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT.
MO...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT EXTREME NE
MISSOURI COUNTIES.

NICHOLS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

16 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Des Moines

When: January 30, 3:00 AM CST to January 31, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Des Moines forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Henry

When: January 30, 3:00 AM CST to January 31, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Henry forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.988, -91.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jefferson

When: January 30, 3:00 AM CST to January 31, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Keokuk

When: January 30, 3:00 AM CST to January 31, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Keokuk forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lee

When: January 30, 3:00 AM CST to January 31, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.642, -91.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Louisa

When: January 30, 3:00 AM CST to January 31, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Louisa forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Scott

When: January 30, 3:00 AM CST to January 31, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Scott forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.637, -90.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Van Buren

When: January 30, 3:00 AM CST to January 31, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Van Buren forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.753, -91.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Washington

When: January 30, 3:00 AM CST to January 31, 6:00 AM 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, Cedar

When: January 30, 6:00 AM CST to January 31, 7:00 AM 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, Clinton

When: January 30, 6:00 AM CST to January 31, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Clinton forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.898, -90.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Iowa

When: January 30, 6:00 AM CST to January 31, 7:00 AM 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: January 30, 6:00 AM CST to January 31, 7:00 AM 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: January 30, 6:00 AM CST to January 31, 7:00 AM 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, Jones

When: January 30, 6:00 AM CST to January 31, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Jones forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.121, -91.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Muscatine

When: January 30, 6:00 AM CST to January 31, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Muscatine forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.484, -91.113 (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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, January 2002

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: 5278760, 5278761, 5278764, 5278767, 5278768, 5278769, 5278771, 5278772, 5278773, 5278758, 5278759, 5278762, 5278763, 5278765, 5278766, 5278770.