Heavy Snow, Polk
- When
- March 19, 4:30 PM CST to March 20, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Polk forecast zone
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 41.686, -93.573 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Iowa, March 19 to 20, 2010
S. during the 19th into the 20th.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 9
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 shortwave moved southeast into the central U.S. during the 19th into the 20th. The system intensified over the southern Plains during the overnight hours into the 20th. A cold front slipped southeast across Iowa during the afternoon and evening of the 19th. This front set the stage for an overrunning snow event. The snow fell at the rate of one half to nearly one inch per hour at times in a band extending from south central into central Iowa. This band became stationary for several hours during the overnight hours of the 19th into early the 20th. An area of 6 to 8 inch snowfall occurred from near Newton and Des Moines across portions of southwest Jasper County, southern Polk County, and across Warren County. The heaviest snowfall was in Warren County at Indianola and Lacona which both reported 8 inches. There were several reports in the 6 to 7 inch range. Impacts of the snow were relatively minor and mainly limited to icy road conditions.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
9 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Jasper
- When
- March 19, 4:30 PM CST to March 20, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Jasper forecast zone
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 41.686, -93.054 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Warren
- When
- March 19, 4:30 PM CST to March 20, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Warren forecast zone
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 41.334, -93.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Marion
- When
- March 19, 4:30 PM CST to March 20, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Marion forecast zone
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 41.334, -93.099 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Union
- When
- March 19, 4:30 PM CST to March 20, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Union forecast zone
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 41.028, -94.242 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Clarke
- When
- March 19, 4:30 PM CST to March 20, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Clarke forecast zone
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 41.029, -93.785 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Lucas
- When
- March 19, 4:30 PM CST to March 20, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Lucas forecast zone
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 41.029, -93.328 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Ringgold
- When
- March 19, 4:30 PM CST to March 20, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Ringgold forecast zone
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 40.735, -94.244 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Decatur
- When
- March 19, 4:30 PM CST to March 20, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Decatur forecast zone
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 40.738, -93.786 (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
- Avalanche in Colorado, March 19, 2010
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Kansas, March 19 to 21, 2010
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Oklahoma, March 19 to 21, 2010
- Winter Weather in Wisconsin, March 19 to 20, 2010
- Winter Weather in Iowa, March 19 to 20, 2010
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Texas, March 19 to 20, 2010
- Winter Storm in Colorado, March 19 to 20, 2010
- Heavy Snow in New Mexico, March 19 to 20, 2010
- Winter Weather in Illinois, March 19 to 20, 2010
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Kansas, March 19 to 21, 2010
- Winter Storm in Kansas, March 19 to 21, 2010
- Winter Storm in Missouri, March 19 to 21, 2010
More
Every storm in Iowa in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, March 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 211478, 211479, 211481, 211482, 211484, 211485, 211486, 211488, 211489.