Winter Storm — Mitchell, Iowa

2022-12-21 to 2022-12-23 · Mitchell, Iowa

Event narrative

COOP and volunteer snow observers reported that 2 to 3 inches of snow fell across Mitchell County. The highest reported total was 2.8 inches in Saint Ansgar. Strong winds with gusts of 25 to 40 mph created blowing and drifting snow with some occasional whiteouts.

Wider weather episode

A storm brought an extended period of hazardous winter weather to northeast Iowa ahead of the Christmas holiday. Periods of snow fell from December 21st into the 23rd. Most accumulations were in the 2 to 5 inch range with the highest totals around 5 inches at Lock and Dam 10 near Guttenberg (Clayton County) and 4 inches north of Frankville (Winneshiek County). Strong winds of 30 to 45 mph from the 23rd into the 24th created blowing and drifting snow. Whiteouts were common and blizzard conditions occurred across Floyd, Chickasaw and Fayette County. Numerous rural roads were drifted shut across these counties. State snow plows were pulled off the roads across all of the region for the evening of the 23rd into the early morning of the 24th. The wind combined with an influx of arctic air to create dangerously cold wind chills from the 22nd into Christmas morning. Values of 25 to 40 below zero were common during this period with the lowest calculated wind chill of -43 near Monona (Clayton County).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1072130. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.