High pressure, clearing skies, and fresh snow cover allowed air temperatures to drop well below zero during the overnight and early morning hours of February 13. When combined with light winds, dangerous wind chills developed, ranging from 35 to 40 below zero.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS FSD wrote it up.
High pressure, clearing skies, and fresh snow cover allowed air temperatures to drop well below zero during the overnight and early morning hours of February 13. When combined with light winds, dangerous wind chills developed, ranging from 35 to 40 below zero.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
The lowest wind chills ranged from 35 to 38 below zero with 38 below zero observed at a personal weather station near Larchwood.
The lowest wind chills were around 35 below zero with 35 below zero observed at the Iowa Department of Transportation site near Alton.
The lowest wind chills ranged from 35 to 36 below zero with 36 below zero observed at the Sheldon Regional Airport (KSHL).
The lowest wind chills ranged from 35 to 40 below zero with 40 below zero observed at the Iowa Department of Transportation site near Spencer. The Northwest Iowa Regional Airport (KSPW) near Spencer recorded a minimum wind chill of 34 below zero.
The lowest wind chills ranged from 35 to 37 below zero with 37 below zero observed at the Storm Lake Municipal Airport (KSLB).
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, February 2025
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: 1294237, 1294238, 1294239, 1294240, 1294241.