Heavy Snow — Iron, Missouri

2021-02-14 to 2021-02-15 · Iron, Missouri

Event narrative

Several rounds of snow beginning the evening of February 14th. The last round of accumulating snow exited Iron County by 6 pm on February 15th. Overall, snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 10 inches.

Wider weather episode

A prolonged period of well below normal and at times record temperatures and light snowfall events culminated in a classic winter storm on Presidents Day that brought up to 10-12 inches of snow to the county warning area. An anomalously cold Arctic air mass had engulfed the region for a week prior to this event, keeping temperatures below freezing. A renewed shot of Arctic air surged into the area over the weekend, and temperatures struggled to make it out of the single digits Sunday and Monday, with lows dropping below zero. Deep atmospheric lift provided by coupled upper-level jet streaks, an approaching mid-level trough, and mid-level frontogenesis took advantage of modest Gulf moisture moving north into the mid-Mississippi Valley to produce snow, heavy at times, Monday the 15th of February. The highest snowfall amounts occurred in east-central and southeast Missouri and southern Illinois where stout lift and the highest moisture resided.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 943585. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.