Winter Storm — Grundy, Iowa

1999-01-01 to 1999-01-02 · Grundy, Iowa

Wider weather episode

The seasons first winter storm struck Iowa during the New Years Weekend. A complex weather situation unfolded during the day on the first. The upper level system was broken in two pieces. The southern branch swept to the south of Iowa and produced the actual surface low pressure system. Another significant upper level system moved southeast out of Canada. The two upper air features merged southeast of Iowa, however a binary interaction took place resulting in the southern system being lifted north into the central U.S. A large area of snow developed over Iowa. The heaviest snow fell over the east third of the state with the west edge of this heavier band just brushing the east part of the Des Moines County Warning Area. Snowfall amounts were generally in the six to ten inch range over most of county warning area. A small area of a foot or more of snow was reported in the Waterloo area,extending west toward Eldora. Actually, Mason City had the highest snowfall total with 13.9 inches. Eldora was close behind with a storm total of 13.5 inches. Some of the heavier totals included 12+ inches in the Waterloo area, a band of eight to twelve inches from northwest of Fort Dodge, northeast to the Mason City area. Mason City reported 12 inches from the storm as did Pocahontas. Boone also reported in excess of 8 inches of new snow, with both Story City and Steamboat Rock coming in with 10 inches. Travel was made difficult by the snow as the winds increased on the 2nd with the deepening low to the east of Iowa. Travel was not recommended across the east half of the state by mid day on the 2nd. Northerly winds of 20 to 35 MPH were common, with occasional gusts to over 40 MPH. Visibility was reduced to under one quarter of a mile at times with snow drifts of three to five feet deep reported in some areas. Conditions improved slowly during the evening of the 2nd as the snow tapered off, though considerable drifting continued into the 3rd. Even though there was some improvement in conditions, many roads were blocked by the snow. Church services were cancelled in many areas of the state, which is quite unusual for Iowa. As temperatures fell behind the storm, the winds continued to blow. Wind chill became a problem with most of the state falling to the -30 to 50 degree range. Two deaths occurred due to the storm in the Des Moines County Warning Area. A 95 year old male died in Des Moines when he slipped outside of his house, was unable to get up, and froze to death. In Beaman, in Grundy County, an 87 year old male died when his vehicle became stranded and he froze to death seeking help.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5679163. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.