winter

Ah yes, snow in March. Fun stuff, right? The record amount of snow to fall on March 15th in Waterloo is 9.5." That record was set in 1923 and I think it's safe that record will hold. However, it's quite likely that after this storm system rolls through, it will be the second-most snow to ever fall on March 15th as that amount currently sits at just 2" in 1913...

The amount of snow encompassing the United States this week is wild. As Iowans, we are accustomed to dealing with deep drifts and bitter cold every winter. But other parts of the nation are not. As of 2/16, 73% of the country had snow on the ground... Read More ...

Spring is less than 30 days away. Which means there's still plenty of time for more SNOW. According to the below chart from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet, Waterloo has accumulated over 43" of snow since October 1, 2020. That's nearly 10" above average, but still 16...

73% of us are actually scared of driving in the snow.

Video shot by Chris Fitzmorris in Kenner, Louisiana, shows electrical power surging through the lines at the same time a transformer went down as a winter storm ripped through the state. Thousands of people were without power across Louisiana as icy winter storms move across the state on Monday morning...

A Blizzard is defined as: Blowing and/or falling snow with winds of at least 35 mph, reducing visibilities to a quarter of a mile or less for at least three hours. But how often are these issued within the state of Iowa? The Iowa Environmental Mesonet has created a graph (below) showing the frequency of blizzard warnings in Iowa per year by county since 2007...

** info updated at 5:45 AM 1/30*** The National Weather Service in Des Moines has issued a WINTER STORM WARNING for portions of Eastern Iowa from 9 AM SATURDAY TO 9 AM SUNDAY. The NWS says to expect total snow accumulations of 2 to 5 inches and ice accumulations of one tenth to two tenths of an inch in the warning areas...

How many watches & warnings does Iowa average per year?

While Iowans are used to their cold and snow filled winters, this year might actually be a bit different. According to the Farmer's Almanac, winter 2021 might be less cold than years past. Iowa and the majority of the Midwest are expected to be less cold and less wet. We still have a few months to see if this forecast is going to hold up. In the meantime at least we have these hilarious Tik Toks to keep us warm this winter!

First of all, WHAT IS A SNOW SQUALL? According to the National Weather Service: A snow squall typically lasts less than an hour. The sudden white-out conditions combined with falling temperatures produce icy roads in just a few minutes. The combination of gusty winds, falling temperatures and quick reductions in visibility can cause extremely dangerous road conditions...