Iowa, 2008

Frost and Freeze in Iowa, April 29, 2008

April 29, 2008 · NWS DVN · 21 events in 21 counties and zones

A chilly Canadian airmass spread southward into the Midwest on April 29, 2008. Clear skies and light winds created ideal conditions for widespread frost and freezing temperatures.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 21 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
21

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 chilly Canadian airmass spread southward into the Midwest on April 29, 2008. Clear skies and light winds created ideal conditions for widespread frost and freezing temperatures. Readings dropped to the upper 20s to lower 30s across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri during the early morning hours. Damage to crops and gardens was minimal as a cool and wet spring prevented field work.

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 Apr 28, 1:50 PM CST, 10 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 28, 1:50 PM CST, 10 hours 10 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 28, 4:00 AM CST, 20 hours before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

21 frost/freeze. Local standard time, as filed.

Frost/Freeze, Dubuque

When
April 29, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 AM CST
Where
Dubuque forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
42.469, -90.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The minimum temperature recorded at Dubuque, Iowa was 30 degrees.

Frost/Freeze, Buchanan

When
April 29, 1:00 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Buchanan forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.471, -91.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Clinton

When
April 29, 1:00 AM CST to 6:00 AM CST
Where
Clinton forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
41.898, -90.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Delaware

When
April 29, 1:00 AM CST to 6:00 AM CST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.471, -91.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Scott

When
April 29, 1:00 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Scott forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
41.637, -90.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The minimum temperature recorded at the Quad Cities National Weather Service Forecast Office in Davenport, Iowa was 29 degrees.

Frost/Freeze, Benton

When
April 29, 2:00 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Benton forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.080, -92.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Des Moines

When
April 29, 2:00 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Des Moines forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The minimum temperature recorded at Burlington, Iowa was 31 degrees.

Frost/Freeze, Henry

When
April 29, 2:00 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Henry forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.988, -91.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Jefferson

When
April 29, 2:00 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Lee

When
April 29, 2:00 AM CST to 6:00 AM CST
Where
Lee forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.642, -91.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Louisa

When
April 29, 2:00 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Louisa forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Muscatine

When
April 29, 2:00 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Muscatine forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
41.484, -91.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Van Buren

When
April 29, 2:00 AM CST to 6:00 AM CST
Where
Van Buren forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.753, -91.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Iowa

When
April 29, 3:00 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Iowa forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
41.686, -92.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Jackson

When
April 29, 3:00 AM CST to 6:00 AM CST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.172, -90.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Cedar

When
April 29, 3:30 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Cedar forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
41.772, -91.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Johnson

When
April 29, 3:30 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Johnson forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
41.672, -91.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The minimum temperature reported at Iowa City, Iowa was 32 degrees.

Frost/Freeze, Jones

When
April 29, 3:30 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Jones forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.121, -91.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Keokuk

When
April 29, 3:30 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Keokuk forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Frost/Freeze, Linn

When
April 29, 3:30 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Linn forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
42.079, -91.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The minimum temperature reported at Cedar Rapids, Iowa was 30 degrees.

Frost/Freeze, Washington

When
April 29, 3:30 AM CST to 6:30 AM CST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
41.336, -91.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Frost/Freeze
Frost or temperatures at or below freezing during the growing season, usually filed for crop damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Iowa in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, April 2008

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 96870, 96864, 96867, 96868, 96883, 96863, 96869, 96871, 96874, 96879, 96881, 96882, 96884, 96872, 96873, 96865, 96875, 96876, 96878, 96880, 96885.