Iowa, 2025

Extreme Cold in Iowa, February 17 to 18, 2025

February 17 to 18, 2025 · NWS OAX · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

On the evening on February 17, extreme cold pushed into much of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa. The event brought wind chills temperatures generally in the 30 to 37 below 0 range.

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

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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 OAX wrote it up.

On the evening on February 17, extreme cold pushed into much of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa. The event brought wind chills temperatures generally in the 30 to 37 below 0 range.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Harrison

When
February 17, 9:00 PM CST to February 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Harrison forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
41.683, -95.817 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill got as low as -35 in the county.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Mills

When
February 17, 9:00 PM CST to February 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Mills forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
41.034, -95.621 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of nearby observations suggests wind chills got as low as -30 in the county.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Monona

When
February 17, 9:00 PM CST to February 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Monona forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
42.052, -95.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill got as low as -33 in the county.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Montgomery

When
February 17, 9:00 PM CST to February 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
41.030, -95.156 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill got as low as -34 in the county.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Pottawattamie

When
February 17, 9:00 PM CST to February 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Pottawattamie forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
41.337, -95.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill got as low as -32 in the county.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Shelby

When
February 17, 9:00 PM CST to February 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Shelby forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
41.685, -95.310 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill got as low as -37 in the county.

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Iowa in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, February 2025

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: 1239109, 1239110, 1239111, 1239112, 1239113, 1239114.