Blizzard and Winter Weather in Iowa, December 15 to 16, 2022

Name: Blizzard and Winter Weather in Iowa, December 15 to 16, 2022
Start: 2022-12-15T07:00
End: 2022-12-16T17:00
Location: Iowa

December 15 to 16, 2022 · NWS FSD · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 6

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 FSD wrote it up.

After a wintry mix of precipitation on December 12 and a warmup to allow mainly rainfall on December 13, temperatures fell with a change to snow. Snow and stronger winds began earlier in the day December 14 west of the James River, with the transition to snow mainly later into the early morning hours of December 15 toward Interstate 29. With northwest winds gusting at times from 40 to 55 mph, several areas exhibited periods of blizzard conditions on the 15th and early on the 16th. The heaviest snowfall occurred from the James River Valley westward, where up to 10 to 17 inches was common. Amounts decreased toward the south and east, with less than 3 inches in far southeast South Dakota, northeast Nebraska and northwest Iowa.

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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 15, 5:45 AM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 15, 5:45 AM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 15, 6:22 AM CST, 38 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

4 winter weather, 2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Lyon

When: December 15, 7:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where: Lyon forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 43.381, -96.210 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow developed early on December 15, with strong and gusty winds developing shortly after this time. Consistent visibility of one-quarter mile occurred from late morning through the afternoon, with a peak wind gust reaching 39 mph at the Iowa State Road Weather Information System site DONI4 near Doon. Snowfall totaled 3.3 inches at COOP site RKRI4 in Rock Rapids.

Blizzard, Sioux

When: December 15, 7:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Sioux forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 43.083, -96.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow developed early on December 15, with strong and gusty winds developing shortly after this time. Consistent visibility of one-quarter mile occurred from late morning through early afternoon, with a peak wind gust reaching 41 mph at the Iowa State Road Weather Information System site RTNI4 near Orange City. Snowfall totaled 3.7 inches at COOP site ORCI4 in Orange City.

Winter Weather, Osceola

When: December 15, 7:00 AM CST to December 16, 3:00 PM CST
Where: Osceola forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.379, -95.624 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totaled 3.5 inches at COOP site SIBI4 in Sibley. Winds gusted as high as 36 mph at Road Weather Information System site RSYI4 near Sibley, which very briefly resulted in visibility of around one-half mile.

Winter Weather, O'Brien

When: December 15, 7:00 AM CST to December 16, 3:00 PM CST
Where: O'Brien forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.084, -95.625 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totaled 3.2 inches at COOP site SNBI4 in Sanborn and 3.0 inches at SHDI4 in Sheldon. Winds gusted as high as 41 mph at Automated Weather Observing System site KSHL near Sheldon, which resulted in visibility of less than one mile at times during the afternoon of December 15.

Winter Weather, Dickinson

When: December 15, 8:00 AM CST to December 16, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Dickinson forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 43.378, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totaled 3.4 inches 2 miles southwest of Spirit Lake. Winds gusted as high as 38 mph at a personal weather station 3 miles south-southeast of Lake Park, which very briefly resulted in visibility of around one-half mile.

Winter Weather, Clay

When: December 15, 8:00 AM CST to December 16, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.083, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totaled 3.4 inches at COOP site 3 miles southeast of Spencer. Winds gusted as high as 49 mph at Automated Surface Observing System site KSPW near Spencer, which resulted in visibility of around one mile at times.

What these are

Blizzard: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Iowa in 2022 Every state in 2022 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, December 2022

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: 1072876, 1072877, 1072878, 1072882, 1072880, 1072881.