The record
Everything the slot carries, as measured. Series arrays are drawn above and listed here in full.
| event_type | Cold/Wind Chill |
|---|---|
| ncei_event_id | 5,585,621 |
| episode_id | 2,057,534 |
| begin_utc | 1997-01-16T03:00:00+00:00 |
| end_utc | 1997-01-16T21:00:00+00:00 |
| state | IOWA |
| cz_type | Z |
| cz_name | CASS |
| deaths_direct | 0 |
| deaths_indirect | 0 |
| injuries_direct | 0 |
| injuries_indirect | 0 |
| episode_narrative | During the night of the 14th into the morning of the 15th a low pressure tracked east, then northeast across the central U.S. The low passed south of Iowa, leaving behind a fresh 2 to 5 inches of fluffy snow. There was no wind associated with this snowfall. On the 15th, an Arctic cold front dropped south out of Canada. It entered northwest Iowa during the mid afternoon hours and quickly swept southeast across the state. Behind in was sharply colder temperatures and very strong northwest winds. High winds moved into north central Iowa with wind gusts of 62 MPH recorded at Estherville in Emmet County and Emmetsburg in Palo Alto County. Sustained winds in those areas were between 45 and 50 MPH for a two hour period during the mid evening. Much of the state had winds of 30 to 40 MPH with frequent gusts to near 50 MPH. At the Des Moines Airport, a 52 MPH wind gust was recorded. The high winds whipped the fluffy snow up across the state. Visibility was reduced to zero over the northwest and north central counties of the state. Further south, occasional whiteouts were reported, however visibility was generally above one half mile. Several roads were closed by the drifting statewide with most school districts calling off classes on the 16th. Several colleges in the state also cancelled classes. Fortunately, there was no falling snow at the time, so conditions improved before dawn on the 16th. The winds and blowing snow produced drifts of 10 to 20 feet deep over northern Iowa. There were numerous accounts of snow drifts to the second story of houses. The next problem was with the falling temperatures. Readings fell below zero over most of the state. These readings, combined with the winds, produced wind chill values in the -50 to -60 degree range statewide. The low wind chills persisted into the day on the 16th, however they were not as severe by mid day and were generally above -40 by the evening. Following the blizzard, Governor Branstad declared 11 Iowa counties disaster areas. In the Des Moines County Warning Area, this included Kossuth, Emmet, and Palo Alto Counties. The combination of blowing snow, high winds, and extreme temperatures resulted on livestock loss across the state. There were cases of cattle frozen in the fields. On one case, a calf was found huddled next to its mother. Both were frozen to death. Several hundered head of cattle were lost to the cold. |
| year | 1,997 |
Provenance
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Storage: spine