Cold/Wind Chill in Iowa

Events

991

Deaths

2

Injuries

0

Damage

$21 million

• Cold in Iowa, September 21, 1999$15 million · 51 eventsThe second major push of cold air of the season moved into Iowa as the seasons first real Arctic high pressure moved into the central U.S. As skies cleared during the evening of the 20th, temperatures fell quite rapidly.
• Cold in Iowa, May 1 to 31, 1996$5.1 million · 58 eventsCold weather through the entire month resulted in problems with the seasons crops. The cold ground caused slow to poor germanation of the seed resulting in the replanting of about 4% of the states 12.7 million corn acres.
• Cold in Iowa, February 4, 19961 death · 1 eventAn elderly female slipped and fell during the extreme cold spell. As a consequence, she died of hypothermia as she was unable to get up and out of the elements.
• Cold in Iowa, December 18, 20161 death · 1 eventThe coldest air of the winter season flooded into the region in the wake of an arctic cold front on the morning December 18th. Clouds cleared from west to east as high pressure moved into the region and winds diminished to 5 too 15 mph by sunrise.
• Cold in Iowa, January 15 to 16, 1997$750,000 · 51 eventsDuring the night of the 14th into the morning of the 15th a low pressure tracked east, then northeast across the central U.S. The low passed south of Iowa, leaving behind a fresh 2 to 5 inches of fluffy snow. There was no wind associated with this snowfall.
• Cold in Iowa, February 1 to 2, 199658 eventsA strong reinforcing Arctic cold ront dropped south across Iowa during the late afternoon hours of the 1st. With it came north winds of 15 to 20 MPH along with temperatures between -15 and -30 degrees F. These conditions resulted in extremely low wind chill values.
• Cold in Iowa, January 18 to 19, 199657 events
• Cold in Iowa, January 9 to 11, 199751 eventsA major blast of Arctic air roared into the state during the afternoon and evening of the 9th creating blizzard conditions over much of the northwest half of Iowa.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in Iowa, December 30 to 31, 201751 eventsBitter cold wind chills occurred across much of the area due to arctic air spreading across the region and remaining in place into the new year.
• Cold in Iowa, February 13 to 16, 202151 eventsA prolonged cold snap that ensnared much of the country intensified to it's most extreme levels across Iowa February 13 through 16 a reinforcing shot of extreme cold air out of Canada settled in.
• Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 6 to 8, 201024 eventsThis was the third winter storm in a month that hit eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa. An upper level disturbance dropped down out of Canada and closed off over the central plains before moving off to the east.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in Iowa, January 22 to 24, 201424 eventsA strong Arctic air mass flooded into eastern Iowa on January 22, 2014 in the wake of a powerful cold front.
• Cold in Iowa, February 1 to 4, 199621 eventsAfter major Winter Storms on the 19th and the 26th, a blanket of thick snow lay across the area. A re-enforcing shot of cold air pushed over the area on the 30th and took temperatures below zero through the first few days of February.
• Cold in Iowa, January 30 to 31, 199621 eventsAfter major winter storms on the 19th and 26th a blanket of thick snow lay across much of the area. A re-enforcing shot of cold air pushed over the area on the 30th and took temperatures below zero through the first few days of February.
• Cold in Iowa, January 10 to 12, 199721 eventsStrong winds and temperatures in the single digits, above and below zero, caused many schools to close Friday, January 10. This was also associated with snow and blowing snow, but the most significant element was the cold.
• Cold in Iowa, January 17 to 19, 199721 eventsExtreme windchill followed the winter storm of the 15th through the 17th. Temperatures ranged in the single digits, above and below zero, combined with winds which ranged from 20 to 25 mph with gusts to 45 mph.
• Cold in Iowa, December 1 to 31, 200021 eventsDecember 2000 was notable for the record cold conditions across the upper Midwest. Much of the month was characterized by a persistent northwest flow pattern, which produced repeated significant outbreaks of bitterly cold Arctic air.
• Cold and Winter Weather in Iowa, December 13 to 14, 202519 eventsA clipper system brought a band of light to moderate snowfall across southeast South Dakota, northeast Nebraska, and northwest Iowa during the early morning through midday hours of December 13.
• Cold in Iowa, February 10, 200816 eventsA strong Arctic high pressure center dropped south into Iowa during the afternoon of the 9th through the day on the 10th. Temperatures plunged to between 5 and 17 below zero over about the northeast half of the state.
• Winter Storm and Cold in Iowa, December 20 to 22, 200816 eventsAfter being hit by heavy snow December 18 and 19, northeast Iowa was impacted by another winter storm December 20 through 21.
• Cold in Iowa, December 23 to 24, 199615 eventsThe seasons first real blast of Arctic air moved into the state as a strong cold front dropped southeast across Iowa.
• Cold in Iowa, January 29 to 31, 199611 eventsBitterly cold air and strong winds combined to create wind chill readings as cold as 70 below zero.
• Winter Storm and Cold in Iowa, February 1 to 2, 201111 eventsA large upper level system dropped southeast from the northern Rockies and then split into two pieces, one tracked across the central plains while the other drifted southwest across the southwestern U.S.
• Cold in Iowa, January 18 to 19, 202011 eventsBrisk winds in advance of the center of strong arctic high pressure brought wind chill readings to -25 to -35 during the overnight and morning of January 19.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in Iowa, February 12 to 13, 202011 eventsContinued strong wind and plummeting temperatures brought wind chills to 30 below to 45 below zero during the overnight and early morning hours.

Cold/Wind Chill everywhereEvery kind of event in Iowa

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.