Winter Storm in Iowa, January 25 to 26, 2004

Name: Winter Storm in Iowa, January 25 to 26, 2004
Start: 2004-01-25T10:00
End: 2004-01-26T23:00
Location: Iowa

January 25 to 26, 2004 · NWS FSD · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

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.

Snowfall of 6 to 13 inches was accompanied by winds strong enough to reduce visibilities to a quarter mile or less at times in blowing snow. The heaviest snow accumulations occurred in the Sioux City area. The winds also caused drifting snow, which contributed to making travel very difficult. In addition, dangerous wind chills developed late in the storm as actual temperatures fell. Numerous schools were closed and many school related activities were cancelled.

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.

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 25, 5:22 AM CST, 4 hours 38 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
0522 AM CST SUN JAN 25 2004

SDZ038>040-050-052>071-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-098-
IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-NEZ013-014-261200-
AURORA-BEADLE-BON HOMME-BROOKINGS-BRULE-BUENA VISTA IA-
CHARLES MIX-CHEROKEE IA-CLAY-CLAY IA-COTTONWOOD MN-DAKOTA NE-
DAVISON-DICKINSON IA-DIXON NE-DOUGLAS-GREGORY-HANSON-HUTCHINSON-
IDA IA-JACKSON MN-JERAULD-KINGSBURY-LAKE-LINCOLN-LINCOLN MN-
LYON IA-LYON MN-MCCOOK-MINER-MINNEHAHA-MOODY-MURRAY MN-NOBLES MN-
OBRIEN IA-OSCEOLA IA-PIPESTONE MN-PLYMOUTH IA-ROCK MN-SANBORN-
SIOUX IA-TURNER-UNION-WOODBURY IA-YANKTON-

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA...
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...NORTHWEST IOWA...AND NORTHEAST NEBRASKA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

WINTER WEATHER...
A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT EAST OF
A HURON...TO MITCHELL...TO WAGNER SOUTH DAKOTA LINE. THIS AREA
CAN EXPECT 6 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW THROUGH TONIGHT. THE SNOW WILL
BEGIN AS THE AFTERNOON PROGRESSES...WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOW
FALLING IN THE MID
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING JUST EAST OF THE JAMES VALLEY...AND
VERY LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS ALONG I 29 AND
POINTS EASTWARD.

A SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT ALONG AND WEST OF A HURON...TO
MITCHELL TO WAGNER SOUTH DAKOTA LINE. OCCASIONAL SNOW WILL BEGIN
TO FALL BY MIDDAY...WITH ACCUMULATING SNOW LASTING INTO THE
EVENING HOURS. 3 TO 6 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED NEAR THE JAMES RIVER
VALLEY...TO A LOW OF NEAR 2 INCHES IN GREGORY COUNTY AND AROUND
CHAMBERLAIN.

IN ADDITION...SOME LIGHT ICING WILL OCCUR ALONG THE MISSOURI
RIVER VALLEY THIS MORNING...MAINLY FROM NEAR BON HOMME COUNTY TO
IDA COUNTY IOWA...IN THE FORM OF SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN. THIS
INCLUDES YANKTON AND SIOUX CITY. ELSEWHERE...SOME FREEZING
DRIZZLE OR VERY LIGHT FREEZING RAIN COULD OCCUR THIS
MORNING...BUT GLAZING IN THE REST OF THE AREA SHOULD NOT BE A
SERIOUS PROBLEM.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THE WINTER STORM WILL BE EXITING PARTS OF SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA AND
NORTHWEST IOWA MONDAY MORNING. DUE TO THE LINGERING LIGHT
ACCUMULATING SNOW AND WINDS...THE WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN
EXTENDED ALONG AND EAST OF A MARSHALL MINNESOTA...TO IDA COUNTY
IOWA LINE THROUGH NOON.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT.

&&

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT
WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/FSD. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS
WEATHER OUTLOOK.

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: January 25, 10:00 AM CST to January 26, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Buena Vista forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.736, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cherokee

When: January 25, 10:00 AM CST to January 26, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Cherokee forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.736, -95.624 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clay

When: January 25, 10:00 AM CST to January 26, 11:00 PM 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: January 25, 10:00 AM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM 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, Ida

When: January 25, 10:00 AM CST to January 26, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Ida forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.387, -95.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lyon

When: January 25, 10:00 AM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM 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: January 25, 10:00 AM CST to January 26, 11:00 PM 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: January 25, 10:00 AM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM 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, Plymouth

When: January 25, 10:00 AM CST to January 26, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Plymouth forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.738, -96.214 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sioux

When: January 25, 10:00 AM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Sioux forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.083, -96.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Woodbury

When: January 25, 10:00 AM CST to January 26, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Woodbury forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.390, -96.045 (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 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, January 2004

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: 5380932, 5380933, 5380934, 5380935, 5380936, 5380937, 5380938, 5380939, 5380940, 5380941, 5380942.