Iowa, 2010

Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 23 to 24, 2010

December 23 to 24, 2010 · NWS DMX · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

S. during the overnight hours of the 23rd into the 24th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

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 DMX wrote it up.

A low pressure system moved across the southern U.S. during the overnight hours of the 23rd into the 24th. A strong inverted trough of low pressure traversed Iowa during this time. At the same time, an upper level system dropped southeast out of Canada into the central U.S. Snow developed during the evening hours of the 23rd. A band of heavier snow set up over north central into northeast Iowa. Though the snow did not come down at an extremely rapid rate, the snow fell for an extended period of time. A band of 7 to 11 inches of snow fell from Winnebago County, southeast into Black Hawk County. Some of the heavier snowfall totals included 11 inches in Clear Lake and 9.5 inches in Mason City, both in Cerro Gordo County. In Black Hawk County, 10.5 inches fell in Waterloo. Ten inches of snow fell in Winnebago County at Lake Mills and in Hancock County at Garner. Nine inches fell in Bremer County at Readlyn, with 8 inches falling in Butler County southeast of Dumont. The snow caused some travel problems with several accidents reported. A few roads were closed from time to time. Highway 65 east of Interstate 35 was closed for a while during the afternoon. Interstate 80 was closed for a couple hours in the Newton area due to accidents. Accidents also caused the closure of U.S. Highway 18 east of Emmetsburg. South and west of the heavy snow band, the rest of the DMX CWA received anywhere from 2 to 7 inches of snow.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Winnebago

When
December 23, 8:30 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Winnebago forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
43.378, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Worth

When
December 23, 8:30 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Worth forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
43.377, -93.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cerro Gordo

When
December 23, 8:30 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Cerro Gordo forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
43.082, -93.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Hancock

When
December 23, 8:30 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Hancock forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
43.082, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Franklin

When
December 23, 8:30 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
42.733, -93.262 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Butler

When
December 23, 8:30 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Butler forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
42.732, -92.790 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Grundy

When
December 23, 8:30 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Grundy forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
42.402, -92.791 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Bremer

When
December 23, 8:30 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Bremer forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
42.775, -92.318 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Black Hawk

When
December 23, 8:30 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Black Hawk forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
42.470, -92.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tama

When
December 23, 8:30 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Tama forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
42.080, -92.532 (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 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, December 2010

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: 265604, 265605, 265606, 265607, 265608, 265609, 265610, 265611, 265612, 265613.