Frost/Freeze in Iowa

Events

604

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Damage

$284 million

• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, October 10 to 11, 2009$128 million · 51 eventsA strong push of cold air invaded Iowa during the morning of the 10th. Most of the northwest half of the state fell below freezing on the morning of the 10th, with all of the state recording a killing freeze by the morning of the 11th.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, April 11, 2012$77 million · 51 eventsAfter a record warm March which set the growing season into motion, the weather pattern turned sharply colder. A strong push of cold air advanced south across the state a few days earlier. This set the stage for frost and freezing temperatures for several days.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, September 14, 1996$42 million · 39 eventsAn early season outbreak of cold air swept into Iowa. The combination of early season cold and the fact that the crops were behind normal development resulted in yield losses.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, September 15, 2011$27 million · 10 eventsAn early season freeze occurred over northern Iowa on the morning of the 15th. Temperatures fell to as low as a record 26 F at Mason City, with a large area of 30 degree F temps or lower. This freeze came on the same date as a similar freeze in 2007.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, May 3, 2005$10 million · 21 eventsRecord breaking cold settled over the Midwest during the early morning hours of 3 May 2005. The cold was of such intensity that all time record minimums for the month of May were tied or shattered at most first order stations and many co-operative stations.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, May 13, 1997$1.1 million · 51 eventsA large area of Canadian high pressure settled over the central U.S. bringing with it unseasonably cold weather. Frost or freezing temperatures covered all of Iowa during the early morning hours of the 13th. Readings as low as -5 degrees C.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, October 11 to 12, 201951 eventsAfter a warm start to October, cooler air began to filter down into the Missouri Valley region. A day plus prior, late on the 10th and into the 11th, a cold front slid through the state, dropping temperatures a solid 10 to 15 degrees.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, October 13, 201648 eventsThe first push of cold air for the season made its way into Iowa with many locations receiving the first freeze of the fall season.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, April 28, 201944 eventsA surface low pressure system slide across southern Iowa on the 27th, eventually turning southeastward into Illinois by late afternoon.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, October 15, 201841 eventsCold air settled into the state through the early morning hours on the 15th allowing several sites across central and northern Iowa to receive a killing freeze ending the growing season.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, October 28, 201732 eventsThe push of cold air continued and dropped essentially the remainder of the Iowa below freezing for the first time during the season.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, October 27, 201722 eventsThe first cold air of the season pushed into the state and reached 32 degrees or less across western, northern, and parts of central Iowa.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, April 3 to 10, 200721 eventsAfter a period of unusually warm weather, sub-freezing temperatures settled over eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois, and northeast Missouri daily from April 3rd through the 10th.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, April 29, 200821 eventsA chilly Canadian airmass spread southward into the Midwest on April 29, 2008. Clear skies and light winds created ideal conditions for widespread frost and freezing temperatures.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, April 11 to 12, 201221 eventsA high pressure system originating out of Canada settled into the region on April 10-12, 2012 providing clear skies, light winds and cold temperatures. The result was a hard freeze for three nights in a row as minimum temperatures plummeted into the 20s.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, April 10 to 11, 201221 eventsA high pressure system originating out of Canada settled into the region on April 10-12, 2012 providing clear skies, light winds and cold temperatures. The result was a hard freeze for three nights in a row as minimum temperatures plummeted into the 20s.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, April 10, 201218 eventsA high pressure system originating out of Canada settled into the region on April 10-12, 2012 providing clear skies, light winds and cold temperatures. The result was a hard freeze for three nights in a row as minimum temperatures plummeted into the 20s.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, October 12, 201816 eventsCold air settled into the state through the early morning hours on the 12th allowing several sites across northern Iowa to receive a killing freeze ending the growing season.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, April 26, 20069 eventsUnseasonably cold weather settled across eastern Iowa and northern Illinois on the early morning hours of 26 April. Morning low temperatures were in the upper 20s with Lowden, Iowa and Morrison, Illinois both reporting 26 degrees. Mt.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, October 16, 20189 eventsCold air settled into the state through the early morning hours on the 16th allowing several sites across south central and southeast Iowa to receive a killing freeze ending the growing season.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, April 10 to 12, 20124 eventsWith the unseasonably warm temperatures over the latter half of March, fruit crops across northeast Iowa got an early start on the growing season.
• Frost and Freeze in Iowa, May 3, 20033 eventsTemperatures more typical of early April associated with Canadian high pressure invaded Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois.

Frost/Freeze 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.