Iowa, 2004

Heavy Snow in Iowa, March 15 to 16, 2004

March 15 to 16, 2004 · NWS DVN · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

A late season winter storm developed in the Northern Rockies and moved southeast into the Ohio Valley. Snow began in Eastern Iowa during the morning of 15 March and became heavy in the late afternoon and overnight hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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
$35,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

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 late season winter storm developed in the Northern Rockies and moved southeast into the Ohio Valley. Snow began in Eastern Iowa during the morning of 15 March and became heavy in the late afternoon and overnight hours. The snow tapered to flurries just before dawn on 16 March and ended by mid-morning. Mesoscale banding of snow produced a band of 10+ inches that was 1-2 counties wide. Final snowfall amounts included Brighton, Iowa 16 inches; Sigourney, Iowa 14.3 inches; Columbus Jct and Wapello 12 and 11.5 inches respectively; North English and Washington 12 and 10.2 inches respectively; and Mediapolis, Iowa 10 inches. Another very narrow mesoscale band of snow produced 6-7 inches of snow in just over 12 hours from Lowden, to Wheatland, to Park View, Iowa across parts of Cedar, Clinton, and Scott counties.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Keokuk

When
March 15, 6:00 PM CST to March 16, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Keokuk forecast zone
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Jefferson

When
March 15, 6:00 PM CST to March 16, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Jefferson forecast zone
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Iowa

When
March 15, 7:30 PM CST to March 16, 5:00 AM CST
Where
Iowa forecast zone
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.686, -92.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Washington

When
March 15, 8:00 PM CST to March 16, 5:00 AM CST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.336, -91.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Louisa

When
March 15, 8:00 PM CST to March 16, 5:00 AM CST
Where
Louisa forecast zone
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Muscatine

When
March 15, 9:00 PM CST to March 16, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Muscatine forecast zone
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.484, -91.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Johnson

When
March 15, 9:30 PM CST to March 16, 5:30 AM CST
Where
Johnson forecast zone
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.672, -91.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Iowa in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, March 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5389789, 5389791, 5389787, 5389790, 5389792, 5389793, 5389788.