Winter Storm in Iowa, December 15 to 16, 2003

Name: Winter Storm in Iowa, December 15 to 16, 2003
Start: 2003-12-15T16:00
End: 2003-12-16T04:00
Location: Iowa

December 15 to 16, 2003 · NWS FSD · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Snowfall of 3 to 5 inches was accompanied at times by winds gusting over 40 mph. The strong winds caused visibilities to drop to less than a quarter mile at times, and also caused drifting snow.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 6

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.

Snowfall of 3 to 5 inches was accompanied at times by winds gusting over 40 mph. The strong winds caused visibilities to drop to less than a quarter mile at times, and also caused drifting snow. The snowfall was preceded by a period of freezing drizzle, which caused icing on some roads.

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 Dec 15, 3:39 PM CST, 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 15, 3:39 PM CST, 21 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
335 CST MON DEC 15 2003

.DISCUSSION...
SNOW WAS DEVELOPING LATE THIS AFTERNOON OVER NW PART OF CWA AS
COLDER AIR MOVES IN. DO NOT SEE MUCH SNOW OVER WESTERN PARTS OF CWA
TONIGHT AS LIFT PULLS EAST. AMOUNTS GENERALLY AN INCH OR LESS.
STRONG NORTHWEST 20 TO 35 MPH WILL CAUSE SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW BUT VISIBILTIY SHOULD STAY A HALF MILE OR BETTER. KEEP WINTER
STORM WARNING GOING TO EAST OF JAMES RIVER TO ALONG THE SD BORDER
UNTIL MIDNIGHT. WITH WAVE COMING UP FROM SOUTH WENT FOR 2 TO 4
INCHES OF SNOW. WINDS WILL ALSO PICK UP TO 20 TO 35 MPH WITH SNOW
AND BLOWING SNOW REDUCING TO LESS THAN A HALF MILE. LIFT PULLS EAST
AROUND MIDNIGHT AND SNOW DROPS OFF. THIS WILL LET VISIBILITY
INCREASE. WINTER STORM WARNING ALL NIGHT OVER SW MN INTO NW IA
GENERALLY EAST OF A LINE FROM MARSHALL MN TO PRIMGHAR IA FOR 2 TO 5
INCHES OF SNOW. WINDS COULD GUST TO AROUND 40 MPH ALONG BUFFALO
RIDGE. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS SHOULD BE LESS OVER SOUTHEAST PARTS OF CWA
GENERALLY FROM SIOUX CITY TO STORM LAKE AND ONLY WENT FOR A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW...ALONG WITH THE BLOWING
AND DRIFTING SNOW.

LIFT MOVES TO THE EAST ON TUESDAY WITH SNOW ENDING OVER EASTERN
AREAS WITH LITTLE ADDIATIONAL ACCUMULATION. STILL SOME STRONG
NORTHWEST WINDS...ESPECIALLY IN THE EAST BUT WITH LESS SNOWFALL DID
NOT KEEP A HEADLINE GOING. WILL STILL HAVE BLOWING SNOW IN ZONES.
NOT MUCH CHANGE TO FORECAST THAT WE HAD OUT INTO MID WEEK. THE ONLY
CHANCE OF SNOW WILL BE IN THE NE PART OF CWA ON WED.

IN THE EXTENDED...SOME DIFFERENCES WITH THE OVERALL AMOUNT OF
COOLING EXISTS FOR THE WEEKEND. ALL MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN
BRINGING A CANADIAN CLIPPER DOWN ON FRIDAY...BUT AFTER THAT THERE IS
SOME DIVERGENCE AT LEAST FOR THE SURFACE FCST. THE LATEST THREE GFS
RUNS BRING DOWN A COLD ANTICYCLONE INTO THE HEART OF THE U.S. BEHIND
THE CLIPPER FOR THE WEEKEND. THAT WOULD GIVE A PRETTY CHILLY
SCENARIO FOR THE NORTHERN PLAINS. THE CAN SPECTRAL AND ECMWF ARE A
LITTLE SHALLOWER WITH THE UPPER TROF DVLPING TO OUR EAST OVER THE
GRTLKS...THUS MORE SUBTLE WITH THE COLD AIR DRAINING DOWN. WITH THE
WAY THINGS HAVE GONE SO FAR THIS WINTER ACRS THE ERN SEABOARD...
OPTED TO FOLLOW THE MORE AGGRESSIVE GFS RUNS IN CARVING A LARGER
UPPER TROF OUT OVER THE GRTLKS THIS WEEKEND AND BRINGING IN SOME
CHILLY AIR. WENT SLIGHTLY BLO THE MEX GUIDANCE FRIDAY THRU SUNDAY
ATTM...WHICH IS ALSO TAILING OFF TEMPS. STARTING SUNDAY NIGHT...THE
ANTICYCLONE BEGINS TO SHIFT EAST BEGINNING WAA AGAIN. ATTM...NOT A
LOT TO KEY ON FOR PCPN. BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...ALL MODELS POINT TO
MORE OF A ZONAL FLOW WITH A POSSIBLE S/W MOVG THRU. WILL REEVALUATE
TOMORROW.

&&

.FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IA...WINTER STORM WARNING TNGT THRU MDNGT ZONES IAZ001-IAZ012
     WINTER STORM WARNING FOR ALL OF TNGT ZONES
     IAZ002>003..IAZ013>014
     WINTER WX ADVSY TNGT THRU MDNGT ZONES IAZ020-IAZ031-
     WINTER WX ADVSY ALL OF TNGT ZONES IAZ021>022..IAZ032.
MN...WINTER STORM WARNING TNGT THRU MDNGT ZONES MNZ071-097>098
     WINTER STORM WARNING ALL OF TNGT ZONES
     MNZ072-MNZ080>081...MNZ089>090.

NE...WINTER WX ADVSY TNGT THRU MDNGT NEZ013>014.

SD...WINTER STROM WARNING TNGT THRU MDNGT ZONES
     SDZ039>040...054>056...SDZ060>062...SDZ065>070
     WINTER WX ADVSY TNGT THRU MDNGT ZONE SDZ071

&&

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Clay

When: December 15, 4:00 PM CST to December 16, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.083, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dickinson

When: December 15, 4:00 PM CST to December 16, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Dickinson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.378, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lyon

When: December 15, 4:00 PM CST to December 16, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Lyon forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.381, -96.210 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, O'Brien

When: December 15, 4:00 PM CST to December 16, 4:00 AM CST
Where: O'Brien forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.084, -95.625 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Osceola

When: December 15, 4:00 PM CST to December 16, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Osceola forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.379, -95.624 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sioux

When: December 15, 4:00 PM CST to December 16, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Sioux forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.083, -96.178 (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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, December 2003

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: 5331679, 5331680, 5331681, 5331682, 5331683, 5331684.