Winter Weather — Plymouth, Iowa

2020-01-12 · Plymouth, Iowa

Event narrative

Snowfall was briefly moderate to heavy during the afternoon, accumulating to 3.5 inches at Le Mars and 3.0 inches at Brunsville and Akron, resulting in dangerous travel conditions. Following this snowfall, slick road conditions which lingered due to drifting snow during the early morning of January 14 resulted in a pair of (indirect) fatalities in a two-vehicle accident on County Road K22 near Granite Avenue.

Wider weather episode

A mid-level disturbance worked northeast from Colorado early morning January 12 into Iowa by late day. Broad lift initially within the warm advection zone became increasingly concentrated, with deeper lift in the dendritic growth layer by afternoon across northwest Iowa. Snowfall rates up to 1.5 to 2 inches per hour were noted across northwest Iowa and northeast Nebraska at the peak during the late afternoon.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 873932. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.