Blizzard — Worth, Iowa

2025-03-19 · Worth, Iowa

Wider weather episode

On March 19th, a dynamic spring low pressure system passed eastward from Kansas/Nebraska into Iowa/Missouri, which resulted in a variety of weather conditions such as severe weather, high winds and blizzard conditions. This started out with morning scattered showers and storms into southern and central Iowa as mid-level lapse rates near 9 C/km and 1000 J/kg of MUCAPE set up overhead, paired with a strong low level jet jutting into southern Iowa. Severe storms were fairly limited however, with 1 inch hail in Hardin County and 1.25 inch hail in Story County in the early morning hours. Across the northwest half of Iowa, the cold sector which had substantial moisture and forcing for lift developed a broad swath of moderate to heavy snowfall in the morning to afternoon. This snow was paired with very strong synoptic northwest winds gusting to 60-65 mph at times outside of the sustained 40mph winds that were more common over that area. Otherwise winds were gusty across Central Iowa with gusts generally around 45-55 mph. Blizzard conditions therefore set up over northwestern Iowa, with visibilities dropping around to less than a quarter of a mile, making travel impossible. Power outages occurred over several counties in the affected area, with several thousands without power. Snowfall totals over northwest Iowa were generally between 6-12 inches, with drifting greatly influencing values.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1244409. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.