Iowa, 2019

Winter Storm in Iowa, November 26 to 27, 2019

November 26 to 27, 2019 · NWS DMX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

A surface low pressure system developed on the lee side of the Rockies late November 25th and November 26th. As it departed the front range, it moved eastward through Kansas before turning northeasterly into Iowa and the Great Lakes Region during the evening of the 26th and through the 27th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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
11

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 surface low pressure system developed on the lee side of the Rockies late November 25th and November 26th. As it departed the front range, it moved eastward through Kansas before turning northeasterly into Iowa and the Great Lakes Region during the evening of the 26th and through the 27th. While substantially cold temperatures were not in place within the area or north of the area, it was cold enough for snow to be the primary precipitation type across much of northwest and northern Iowa. Areas further south remained warm enough to see predominantly rain. As the system departed, it also provided a number of hours of strong gusty winds due to a tight surface pressure gradient on the backside of the surface low. With around 2 to 6 inches of snowfall and winds gusting to 40 to 50 mph, travel was hazardous at times, including significantly reduced visibilities. Fortunately, much of the worst conditions occurred during the evening and overnight hours.

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 Nov 26, 5:47 PM CST, 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 26, 5:47 PM CST, 13 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 26, 2:35 PM CST, 3 hours 25 minutes 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

11 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Emmet

When
November 26, 6:00 PM CST to November 27, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Emmet forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.378, -94.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Palo Alto

When
November 26, 6:00 PM CST to November 27, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Palo Alto forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.082, -94.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kossuth

When
November 26, 6:00 PM CST to November 27, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Kossuth forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.204, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Winnebago

When
November 26, 6:00 PM CST to November 27, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Winnebago forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.378, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hancock

When
November 26, 6:00 PM CST to November 27, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Hancock forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.082, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Worth

When
November 26, 6:00 PM CST to November 27, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Worth forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.377, -93.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pocahontas

When
November 26, 6:00 PM CST to November 27, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Pocahontas forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.734, -94.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Humboldt

When
November 26, 6:00 PM CST to November 27, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Humboldt forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.777, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Webster

When
November 26, 6:00 PM CST to November 27, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Webster forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.428, -94.182 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wright

When
November 26, 6:00 PM CST to November 27, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Wright forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.733, -93.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cerro Gordo

When
November 26, 6:00 PM CST to November 27, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Cerro Gordo forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.082, -93.261 (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

More

Every storm in Iowa in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, November 2019

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: 863141, 863142, 863143, 863144, 863145, 863146, 863147, 863148, 863149, 863150, 863151.