Winter Weather — Henry, Iowa

2007-03-01 to 2007-03-02 · Henry, Iowa

Event narrative

On Highway 218, just north of Mt. Pleasant, near the Trenton exit, an indirect death occurred at 734 pm on March 1, when a 51 year old male lost control of his vehicle due to the wind and snow. The vehicle overturned in a ditch full of water.

Wider weather episode

March roared in like a lion, as an intense low pressure system tracked from Oklahoma to central Iowa, and then into the western Great Lakes. Strong winds accompanied this storm across the region, with snow and blowing snow a significant problem in eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois. Snowfall amounts ranged from 1 to 3 inches mainly north of Highway 34, with isolated 5+ inches near Stanley in Buchanan county. Sustained winds of 35 to 40 mph, with gusts of 45 to 50 mph were common throughout the area. Isolated gusts over 50 mph were measured. This created dangerous whiteout conditions. Besides the snow, there was also locallized heavy rain of .75 to 1.5 inches falling on partially frozen ground, which caused significant ponding of water. One indirect death occurred Near Mt. Pleasant, Iowa in Henry county, when a 51 year old male lost control of his vehicle in the snow and wind, and overturned in a water-filled ditch. Combining the February 24, 2007 ice storm, and March 1-2, 2007 winter storm, Alliant Energy Company which serves Iowa and southern Minnesota had 269,000 customers lose electric service. This is 54% of the customer base, with about 400 of 800 communities without power. Alliant Energy had to replace more than 2,200 transmission poles, 4,100 distribution poles, and 1,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines. Restoration costs were estimated at approximately $70 million.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 20409. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.