Winter Storm in Iowa, April 10 to 11, 2013

Name: Winter Storm in Iowa, April 10 to 11, 2013
Start: 2013-04-10T11:00
End: 2013-04-11T07:00
Location: Iowa

April 10 to 11, 2013 · NWS DMX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: $300,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

Low pressure moved across Missouri on the 10th with an inverted trough extending north and northwest into Iowa. Cold air spilled south across the state, setting the stage for freezing rain initially, then moderate to heavy snow toward the end of the storm. Much of the storm was just to the northwest of the Des Moines CWA, however parts of Emmet and Kossuth Counties were affected, as well as a few areas in Palo Alto County. Freezing rain coated trees and power lines causing power outages with ice accumulations of one to two tenths of an inch. Following the ice, snow accumulated to near 4 inches in the northern parts Emmet and Kossuth Counties. The combination of snow, ice, and winds of 20 to 30 MPH caused damage and numerous event cancellations. About 2,000 Iowa homes and businesses were still without power on the morning of the 11th. More than 18,000 Iowa customers lost power in the storm at one point. Governor Terry Branstad issued a disaster proclamation for 10 counties: Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth, Lyon, O Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth and Sioux. A federal disaster declaration was made for Emmet County, as well as Dickinson, Lyon, and Osceola. MidAmerican Energy called in about 200 employees and contractors from Iowa, Missouri and Kansas for the cleanup and by the evening of the 11th power was returned to all but 40 customers.

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 Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 10, 5:42 AM CST, 5 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 10, 5:42 AM CST, 5 hours 18 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
642 AM CDT WED APR 10 2013

.SHORT TERM.../TODAY /...
SURFACE LOW PRESSURE OVER NERN MO WILL BE SLOW TO MOVE NORTHEAST
TODAY AS THE NEXT ROUND OF FORCING APPROACHES THE AREA.  GUSTY WINDS
OVERNIGHT DUE TO A WAVE DISTURBANCE IN THE WAKE OF THE LAST LINE OF
TSRA SHOULD SUBSIDE EARLY IN THE FORECAST PERIOD.  WITH UPPER LOW
STILL APPROACHING AND THE SURFACE LOW BECOMING CAPTURED...COLD AIR
WILL BE SLOWED SOMEWHAT MOVING INTO THE CWA.  WRAP AROUND WARM AIR
WILL LIKELY KEEP TEMPS NEAR TO JUST ABOVE FREEZING OVER THE
NORTHWEST WITH WBZ TEMPS VERY CLOSE TO FREEZING.  THINKING IS THAT
DURING THE DAY PROBLEMS WILL BE MINIMAL.  COLD AIR SHOULD MAKE
PROGRESS AFTER SUNSET.  AS FOR THE REST OF THE STATE...DO NOT SEE A
LOW OF CHANGE IN THE TEMPS TODAY WITH ONLY MODEST RISES AT BEST
CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST.  MAIN AREA OF RAIN IS ADVANCING TO THE EAST
FAIRLY QUICKLY NOW AND WEAKENING WITH TIME.  MOST OF THE MORNING
WILL SHOW LITTLE IN THE AMOUNT OF RAINFALL...OR ONLY LIGHT AMOUNTS.
NEXT ROUND OF FORCING MOVES ACROSS THE STATE THIS AFTERNOON AND
THERE WILL BE A PICK UP ON THE AREA AND INTENSITY.  AWR/NMM HIRES
MODELS HAVE A PRETTY GOOD HANDLE ON THIS WITH THE HRRR RUNNING A BIT
FAST.

.LONG TERM.../TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/...
EXTENDED PERIOD OF PRECIPITATION REMAINS ACROSS CWA THROUGH
BEGINNING OF LONG TERM. AS SURFACE LOW PULLS EAST THROUGH
MISSOURI...UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL LIFT NE...WITH ONLY FAIR MODEL
AGREEMENT ON TACK OF UPPER LEVEL LOW. NAM AND PREVIOUS GFS RUN
PULLED LOW THROUGH IOWA THROUGH THURSDAY. LATEST GFS TAKES TRACK
FURTHER NORTH...CLOSER TO ECMWF TRACK. HAVE TRENDED TOWARDS PREVIOUS
GFS TRACK WHICH WAS CONSISTENT WITH NAM AND HAD BETTER HANDLING OF
SURFACE LOW. IN ADDITION...LATEST GEM IS MORE IN LINE WITH SLIGHTLY
SOUTHERLY TRACK ACROSS IOWA. THETA-E ADVECTION LINGERS ACROSS
NORTHERN IOWA AHEAD OF UPPER LEVEL LOW...AND SLOWLY PUSHES EAST
ACROSS STATE. ANTICIPATE LINGERING CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION ACROSS
MUCH OF THE STATE THROUGH TONIGHT. IN ADDITION...COULD SEE
PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE WEST REDEVELOP LATE THURSDAY AS DEF ZONE
WRAPS AROUND LOW TRACKING EAST. BEFORE ENTIRE SYSTEM FINALLY PULLS
NORTHEAST OF AREA BY LATE FRIDAY WITH ONLY LINGERING LIGHT SNOW
ACROSS THE NE FRIDAY.

MAIN CONCERN WILL AGAIN BE WITH PRECIPITATION TYPE ACROSS MUCH OF
THE CWA TONIGHT AND THURSDAY. SOUNDINGS AND MODELS STILL CONTINUE TO
INDICATE A STRONG WARM LAYER...ENOUGH TO MELT ICE PARTICLES AND NEAR
SURFACE COLD LAYER. THIS COULD LEAD TO CHANCES FOR FREEZING RAIN
AGAIN ACROSS THE NORTH TONIGHT. BEST CHANCES WILL BE AROUND MASON
CITY. HOWEVER...NAM AGAIN REMAINS VERY BULLISH WITH STRENGTH OF WARM
LAYER...AND GFS KEEPS WARM LAYER VERY CLOSE TO 3C WHICH...WHICH MAY
NOT FULLY MELT HYDROMETEOR. THEREFORE...DO NOT HAVE HIGH CONFIDENCE
IN ZR AND HAVE INCLUDED RAIN WITH CHANCE FOR ZR. FURTHER WEST...NEAR
SURFACE COLD LAYER MAY BE DEEP ENOUGH...UP TO ALMOST 900MB TO
REFREEZE AND LEAD TO SLEET. HAVE KEPT SNOW/SLEET MENTION OR
RAIN/SLEET MENTION ACROSS MUCH OF THE WESTERN CWA BEFORE COLD
TEMPERATURES FINALLY WORK IN BEHIND LOW AND PRECIPITATION SWITCHES
TO SNOW. WILL SEE GOOD LIFT THROUGH DENDRITC ZONE WITH
SNOWFALL...AND COULD SEE HIGH SNOWFALL RATES FOR A
TIME TONIGHT INTO EARLY THURSDAY...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE
NORTHWEST. WILL KEEP WINTER STORM WARNING AS IS...WITH SNOWFALL
TOTALS GENERALLY BETWEEN 3-7 INCHES IN THE WARNING AREA...BUT WILL
BE VARIABLE DEPENDING ON WHEN SWITCH OVER TO SNOW OCCURS. IN
ADDITION...MAY NEED ADVISORY FOR ZR FURTHER EAST...BUT AS STATED DO
NOT HAVE HIGH CONFIDENCE IN PROLONGED ZR EVENT...THOUGH A LIGHT
GLAZE IS POSSIBLE BY EARLY THURSDAY MORNING.

TEMPERATURES WILL WARM BACK TO NEAR NORMAL FOR THE WEEKEND AS
RIDGE AND HIGH PRESSURE PUSH QUICKLY ACROSS THE AREA. BEHIND THIS
HIGH...ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS SET TO AFFECT THE AREA FOR
EARLY NEXT WEEK. HOWEVER...MODELS AGAIN DO NOT HAVE GOOD AGREEMENT
ON HANDLING OF THIS SYSTEM...WITH GFS THE OUTLIER...PULING LOW
FURTHER SOUTH. HOWEVER...ANOTHER CHANCE FOR PROLONGED
PRECIPITATION CHANCES IS LIKELY EARLY IN THE WEEK. WITH WARMER
TEMPERATURES WILL SEE RAINFALL DURING THE DAY...BUT MAY SEE
RAIN/SNOW OVERNIGHT AS TEMPERATURES COOL...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE
NORTH. THIS SYSTEM WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED AS IT NEARS.

&&

.AVIATION...10/12Z
 ISSUED AT 638 AM CDT WED APR 10 2013

LOW PRESSURE OVER NERN MO WILL MOVE LITTLE TODAY...THEN ADVANCE
INTO IL TONIGHT. INVERTED TROF EXTENDING NNWWD OUT OF THE LOW WILL
REMAIN IN PLACE OVER THE STATE TODAY. WIDESPREAD IFR CONDITIONS IN
STRATUS THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. AREAS OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED
TSRA ARE EXPECTED TODAY WITH THE THUNDER THREAT ENDING BY 00Z.
MIXED PRECIPITATION WILL SPREAD INTO THE KFOD AND MICW AREAS LATE
IN THE TAF PERIOD...BUT REMAIN ALL LIQUID ELSEWHERE.

&&

.HYDROLOGY...
ISSUED AT 334 AM CDT WED APR 10 2013

OBSERVED AND FORECAST RAINFALL ARE NOT EXPECTED TO RESULT IN
WIDESPREAD SIGNIFICANT FLOOD IMPACTS ACROSS CENTRAL IOWA FOR THE
NEXT FEW DAYS. THE THREAT OF FLOODING AND FLASH FLOODING IS NOT
PRESENTLY HIGH ENOUGH TO WARRANT A FLOOD WATCH. RAINFALL OVERNIGHT
TOTALED OVER 2 INCHES IN A SMALL PART OF SOUTHEAST IA WEST AND NORTH
OF KOTM BASED ON RADAR ESTIMATES.  MOST AREAS OF THE SOUTHEAST HALF
OF THE CWA APPEARS TO BE IN THE 1 TO 1.5 INCH RANGE.

THE FLASH FLOOD THREAT IS MINIMAL OVER THE NEXT 24 HRS AS RAINFALL
HAS TENDED TO MOVE THROUGH AREAS RATHER THAN TRAINING.  LOCAL
PONDING COULD BE A PROBLEM WITH THE HEAVIER THUNDERSTORMS.  THIS
SHOULD BE QUITE LOCALIZED.

THE RIVER FLOOD THREAT IS GENERALLY LOW OVER THE NEXT 24-48 HRS.
BEST CHANCES FOR QPF ENSEMBLE HYDROGRAPHS SUGGEST THAT ONLY A
COUPLE RIVER FORECAST POINTS MAY APPROACH OR REACH FLOOD STAGE. A

&&

.DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR APPANOOSE-BLACK HAWK-
BREMER-BUTLER-DAVIS-DECATUR-GRUNDY-LUCAS-MAHASKA-MONROE-
POWESHIEK-RINGGOLD-TAMA-TAYLOR-WAPELLO-WAYNE.

WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 1 PM CDT THURSDAY FOR EMMET-KOSSUTH-
PALO ALTO-WINNEBAGO.

&&

SHORT TERM...MS APR 13
LONG TERM...AWB
AVIATION...MS APR 13
HYDROLOGY...MS APR 13

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 10, 4:03 AM CST, 6 hours 57 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
503 AM CDT WED APR 10 2013

IAZ007-016-017-023>026-033>037-044>049-057>061-070>074-081>083-
111115-
WORTH-HANCOCK-CERRO GORDO-POCAHONTAS-HUMBOLDT-WRIGHT-FRANKLIN-SAC-
CALHOUN-WEBSTER-HAMILTON-HARDIN-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-GREENE-BOONE-STORY-
MARSHALL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-POLK-JASPER-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-
WARREN-MARION-ADAMS-UNION-CLARKE-
503 AM CDT WED APR 10 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT
ANTICIPATED.

TONIGHT A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION IS POSSIBLE...CHANGING OVER
TO SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE GENERALLY EXPECTED TO BE
LIGHT. FREEZING RAIN IS POSSIBLE NORTH OF HIGHWAY 20 WITH MINOR
ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE. MIXED PRECIPITATION AND ACCUMULATING SNOWS
MAY LEAD TO HAZARDOUS TRAVEL OVERNIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION MAY CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY. MINOR
ICE ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE EARLY THURSDAY NORTH OF HIGHWAY 20. SOME
SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BRIEFLY...BUT OVERALL IS NOT LIKELY.

IAZ004>006-015-111115-
EMMET-KOSSUTH-WINNEBAGO-PALO ALTO-
503 AM CDT WED APR 10 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT
ANTICIPATED.

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING.
PLEASE REFER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE AT
WEATHER.GOV/DESMOINES FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING
FOR A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION INCLUDING ICING AND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BRIEFLY...BUT OVERALL IS NOT LIKELY.

IAZ027-028-038-039-050-062-075-084>086-092>097-111115-
BUTLER-BREMER-GRUNDY-BLACK HAWK-TAMA-POWESHIEK-MAHASKA-LUCAS-MONROE-
WAPELLO-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD-DECATUR-WAYNE-APPANOOSE-DAVIS-
503 AM CDT WED APR 10 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT
ANTICIPATED...BUT RAINFALL MAY BE LOCALLY HEAVY AT TIMES.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING.
PLEASE REFER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE AT
WEATHER.GOV/DESMOINES FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION IS POSSIBLE...INCLUDING FREEZING
RAIN EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. MINOR ACCUMULATIONS OF ICE ARE
POSSIBLE EARLY THURSDAY...LEADING TO HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BRIEFLY...BUT OVERALL IS NOT LIKELY.

AWB

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 10, 7:48 AM CST, 3 hours 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
848 AM CDT WED APR 10 2013

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0715 PM     TSTM WND DMG     LAURENS                 42.85N 94.85W
04/09/2013                   POCAHONTAS         IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            DELAYED REPORT FROM LAST NIGHT. ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT SHED
            AND BASEBALL FIELD DUGOUT AT LAURENS-MARATHON SCHOOL
            DESTROYED. AT LEAST FOUR TREES AND MULTIPLE LARGE
            BRANCHES DOWN.

&&

SKOW

Local storm report, Apr 10, 7:51 AM CST, 3 hours 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
851 AM CDT WED APR 10 2013

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0810 AM     HEAVY RAIN       CORYDON                 40.76N 93.32W
04/10/2013  M2.50 INCH       WAYNE              IA   PUBLIC

            STORM TOTAL FROM LAST NIGHT. FROM SOCIAL MEDIA.

&&

SKOW

Local storm report, Apr 10, 7:55 AM CST, 3 hours 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
855 AM CDT WED APR 10 2013

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0800 AM     HEAVY RAIN       1 ESE ALTOONA           41.65N 93.46W
04/10/2013  M2.75 INCH       POLK               IA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            48 HOUR STORM TOTAL. 24 HOUR TOTAL OF 0.92 INCHES.

&&

SKOW

Local storm report, Apr 10, 9:45 AM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1045 AM CDT WED APR 10 2013

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1000 AM     HEAVY RAIN       2 ESE WEBSTER CITY AIRP 42.42N 93.84W
04/10/2013  M3.40 INCH       HAMILTON           IA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            STORM TOTAL THUS FAR. 24 HOUR TOTAL OF 1.4 INCHES. SOME
            MINOR PONDING IN FIELDS AND SMALL STREAMS APPROACHING
            BANKFULL.

&&

SKOW

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Emmet

When: April 10, 11:00 AM CST to April 11, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Emmet forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.378, -94.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kossuth

When: April 10, 11:00 AM CST to April 11, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Kossuth forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.204, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Palo Alto

When: April 10, 11:00 AM CST to April 11, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Palo Alto forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.082, -94.678 (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 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, April 2013

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: 433599, 433600, 433601.