Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in Iowa
Every extreme cold/wind chill event the National Weather Service has filed in Iowa, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
The most significant on the map
The most significant extreme cold/wind chill episodes in Iowa.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 1,153
- Deaths
- 5
- Injuries
- 0
- Damage
- None recorded
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 29 to 31, 2019A strong arctic high pressure system brought historic cold to much of the Midwest January 29th through January 31st. Numerous low temperature records were broken, including all-time record lows at Cedar Rapids Moline.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, December 19, 2000Very cold air descended on Iowa. One death was reported due to the cold. An 85 year old man fell outside his home in Greenfield and apparently was not visible from the street. He was unable to get up and died of hypothermia.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 18 to 19, 2001A strong cold front moved through the state ushering in the coldest air that Iowa had seen in a few weeks. Temperatures fell into the single digits above and below zero with a northwest wind of up to 30 MPH at times. Wind chill indices were in the -30 to -40 F. range.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 16, 2009A 65-year-old Carlisle man died on the morning of the 16th when his wheelchair became stuck in the snow in -18 F weather. It appeared the wheelchair became stuck in the snow as he was attempting to clear the pathway into his house.
- Blizzard and Extreme Cold in Iowa, December 22 to 24, 2022A large winter system impacted Iowa and much of the Midwest in the days leading up to Christmas 2022. Snow began to fall across Iowa on the 21st and lasted through the morning of the 22nd, blanketing most of the state in a widespread depth of two to four inches.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 5 to 7, 2014A strong push of cold air moved into the central US during the afternoon of the 5th through the early morning of the 7th. Arctic air spilled south. Temperatures were not all that atypical for January, though the last time it has been this cold was in January of 2010.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Iowa, December 30 to 31, 2017Bitter 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.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 1 to 2, 2018An absolutely bitter arctic air mass entrenched itself across the Midwest a couple of days prior to the New Year and continued to start 2018. Air temperatures well into the negative teens to mid 20s were seen across Iowa throughout the event.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 29 to 31, 2019High pressure situated over the eastern Pacific and a slow moving upper level closed low over the Great Lakes combined to put the upper Midwest, including Iowa, right in the cross hairs of northwest upper level flow and an Arctic air mass intrusion.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 13 to 16, 2024Broadly warm and mild winter conditions came to a harsh end in mid January. Aside from preceding snowfall and blizzard conditions (January 11 through 13), extreme cold and wind chills made their way into the region and remained for a period of a few days.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 20 to 21, 2025A shortwave passed across the area on the 20th, increasing cold air advection into Iowa. That evening temperatures plummeted as cloud cover and wind diminished, allowing for strong radiational cooling.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, February 12 to 13, 2020A strong arctic front out of the northern plains pushed south across the midwest resulting in rapidly dropping temperatures. In some cases, sites saw temperature drops of 15 to 20 degrees over the course of an hour or so and very strong northwesterly winds ushered in arctic air.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, December 17 to 18, 2016After some light to moderate snowfall the previous few days, Canadian high pressure moved southward into the Plains.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Iowa, January 11 to 16, 2024A multi-faceted winter system impacted much of the area from the afternoon hours of January 11 through early on January 16.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 25 to 26, 2022A strong cold front moved across Iowa on January 24th, with morning highs in the 30s that tumbled through the day. By the early morning hours of January 25th, wind chills across northern Iowa were -30 degrees or colder.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 6 to 7, 2015The strongest outbreak of cold air this season so far swept into the state during the evening of the 6th and held its grip into the early morning hours of the 7th. A strong Arctic cold front moved through the state in the wake of the fresh snowfall that occurred on the 5th.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 15 to 16, 2018After a relatively mild winter day Sunday, a low pressure system sweeping in from Canada and the Dakotas ushered in an arctic air mass. The cold front began its entry into Iowa around 6pm CST Sunday and quickly moved across Iowa by about 3am CST Monday.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 27, 2014Following the high wind and blizzard event of the 26th, very cold temperatures moved into the state with readings well below zero. Gusty northwest winds continued through the day on the 27th. Wind Chill values fell to 30 to 45 degrees below zero by the morning of the 27th.
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 6 to 8, 2010This 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, 2014A strong Arctic air mass flooded into eastern Iowa on January 22, 2014 in the wake of a powerful cold front.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Iowa, January 6 to 8, 2010New snowfall varying from 3 to 8 inches, previous snow cover, and northwest winds gusting to around 40 mph combined to produce widespread blowing and drifting snow over all of northwest Iowa.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, December 16 to 17, 2000In the wake of the ice storm that hit the region on 12/15 and 12/16, a powerful Arctic cold front swept through the area from the northern Rockies during the afternoon of 12/16.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, December 23 to 24, 2000Frigid Arctic air remained entrenched across the upper Midwest, and combined with a blustery northwest wind up to 20 miles an hour to produce dangerous wind chill values of 25 to 45 below zero. Actual temperatures fell to between five and ten below during the overnight hours.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, December 21 to 22, 2000Low pressure over the Great Lakes region moved to the east through the day. A strong northwest wind on the back side of the low brought bitterly cold Arctic air into the region, which produced dangerously cold wind chills as well as blowing and drifting snow.
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, February 2 to 5, 2007After a warmer than normal December 2006 and January 2007, arctic air finally made an appearance in February. The first week of the month had the coldest February temperatures since 1996.
More
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill everywhereEvery kind of event in Iowa
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.