Arctic Outbreak of 1899

In Historical by Jeff Wilcox

To really tell the story of this arctic outbreak would be like taking the outbreak Iowa had back in Mid-January and extending it by 10 or so more days in a row. The cold outbreak began on January 25th with an Alberta Clipper racing SE across the Dakotas. By the 26th a strong low was located over northern Lake Michigan …

The Arctic Cold of 1996

In Historical by Jeff Wilcox

A massive arctic high settled into the upper midwest from January 30th through February 4th in 1996. Temperatures nosedived below zero and stayed there for up to a week in some places. Schools were closed statewide in Minnesota and many schools in Iowa were closed during the peak of the cold spell on the 1st and 2nd of February. Minnesota …

View Post

Severe Weather of January 24-27th, 1967

In Historical by Jeff Wilcox

After a bitter arctic blast, I thought it was time to look at a warm day from the past in the state of Iowa. On January 24th 1967, a large storm system was developing in the central Rockies. By noon the center of the low pressure system was moving over the central portions of Iowa. A warm front stretched across …

View Post

Iowa Tornado Outbreak of 2005

In Historical by Jeff Wilcox

The Iowa Tornado Outbreak of 2005 occurred on Saturday November 12th, 2005. Temperatures were in the low 60s on Saturday. A vigorous system moved eastward from the plains. The SPC had a slight risk of severe weather for most of Iowa that day. Thunderstorms began early in the afternoon and by 4pm the storms began rotating. Tornadoes touched down in …

View Post

Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940

In Historical by Jeff Wilcox

The Armistice Day Blizzard occurred on November 11th 1940. Now known as Veterans day, this blizzard was not well forecasted. Prior to this storm unusally warm weather was occurring with temperatures in the 50s and 60s, many hunters went out hunting given the warm weather and ideal conditions. Drastic temperature swings occurred with temperatures dropping from the 50s and 60s …

Halloween Blizzard of 1991

In Historical by Jeff Wilcox

This wasn’t even the biggest weather event of Halloween 1991. The “Perfect Storm” was occurring in New England at this time, but due to that storm there was a blocking pattern going on throughout the United States, thus a storm in the middle of the country could not move east. So it moved north from near Houston to Burlington IA …

A Look Back on October 1997

In Historical by Jeff Wilcox

October 1997 will best be remembered for having 3 seasons in one whole month in Iowa. At the beginning of October, record highs in the mid 90s occurred. Cedar Rapids recorded 94° on October 3rd which broke not only the record for the date but also the warmest temperature for the month of October, Dubuque did the same with 90°, …

Belmond Tornado of 1966

In Historical by Jeff Wilcox

Continuing with historical Autumn weather events, this post reflects on the only F5 tornado to occur in Iowa in the fall. The Belmond Tornado of October 14th 1966. It occurred on Homecoming, Belmond was to play Lake Mills that night in football. The homecoming parade had just ended when the sky began to darken to the west. The large tornado …

View Post

No Peace on Peace Avenue

In Historical by Jeff Wilcox

5 years ago on Sunday, the day dawned clear but quickly clouds rolled into Cedar Rapids off a thunderstorm complex in southern Minnesota. That complex fizzled as it moved into Iowa leaving hazy skies and a wind from the northwest. As the day progressed the winds went back to the south, temperatures went into the mid 80s with dew points …

Go West! The Churdan Tornado of 1969

In Historical by Jeff Wilcox

On July 16, 1969, attention had been on Apollo 11’s launch toward an eventual landing on the moon, however that afternoon in the small town of Churdan in northern Greene County, there was more attention to the weather than the Apollo Mission. The day was very warm and humid, with temperatures near 90 and dew points well into the 70s. …