The Dexes / Winter Storm, Blizzard & Heavy Snow / 5596200
Eventdex · Winter Storm, Blizzard & Heavy Snow
DAVIS
5596200
The record
Everything the slot carries, as measured. Series arrays are drawn above and listed here in full.
| Event typeevent_type | Heavy Snow |
|---|---|
| NOAA NCEI event IDncei_event_id | 5,596,200 |
| Episode IDepisode_id | 1,038,488 |
| Begin UTCbegin_utc | 1997-04-10T11:00:00+00:00 |
| End UTCend_utc | 1997-04-11T22:00:00+00:00 |
| Statestate | IOWA |
| County/zone typecz_type | Z |
| County/zone namecz_name | DAVIS |
| Deaths directdeaths_direct | 0 |
| Deaths indirectdeaths_indirect | 0 |
| Injuries directinjuries_direct | 0 |
| Injuries indirectinjuries_indirect | 0 |
| Damage propertydamage_property | 1.6M |
| Episode narrativeepisode_narrative | A strong baroclinic frontal boundary formed to the south of Iowa during the night of the 9th and morning of the 10th. Warm air riding north on a southern flow in the low levels of the atmosphere over ran cold air at the surface. Wind speeds in the low level jet were between 50 and 65 MPH. The frontal boundary moved north very little as a strong Arctic high pressure cell nearly 1040 mb in strengh remained poised to the north of Iowa. Snow broke out during the predawn hours of the 10th. At first accumulations were not very heavy. Thunderstorms formed over Kansas and moved rapidly northeast into Iowa. Snowfall rates picked up with heavy snow over the southern part of the state by the mid morning hours. There were several waves of convection roll through the state during the following 24 to 36 hour period. Temperatures were close to freezing through the entire storm and it was fortunate that winds were generally under 20 MPH. The snow was very wet and heavy. It quickly caked on trees and powerlines bringing them down. The incredible thing was the amounts of snow that fell. Most of the snow fell during the day on the 10th, with total accumulations of over 24 inches over southern Wayne, Appanoose, and Davis Counties. The actual snowfall will probably never really be known as this was a long duration event. The ground was above freezing with air temperatures at to just above freezing. This lead to a great deal of compaction of the snow. If not for these factors, it is very likely that true totals would have been in excess of 30 inches for the storm. This estimate was confirmed by unofficial observations. The heavy wet snow caused problem over far southern Iowa. There were numerous reports of roof collapses. At least seven buildings collapsed in Davis County. In Appanoose County, the roof of the the firestation in Centerville collapsed under the weight of the heavy snow. The roof of the Tupperware factory in Centerville also collapsed. The damage estimate from that failure was about $500.000. Structural engineers in the area suggested the weight of snow on the roofs was in excess of 30 pounds per square foot. In addition to the damage to buildings, livestock losses in the Counties of Wayne, Appanoose, and Davis totaled nearly $100,000. The Governor of Iowa declared a state of emergency for Davis County due to the threat of building collapse. Later, Davis, Appanoose, and Wayne Counties were declared state disaster areas. Travel was impacted, however it was not as bad as would normally be expected. Road surface temperatures in the mid to upper 30s aided in the melting of the snow as it fell on the roads. During the course of this storm, snow fell over a large part of Iowa. Only the far north central and northeast was spared any significant snowfall. Eight to 12 inches fell from west central, through about the south third of the state. The area receiving the heaviest snowfall was the southern two tiers of counties from south central into southeast Iowa. In these areas snowfall was between 12 and 24 inches. The snow over the rest of the state did not meet the criteria to be considered a heavy snowfall. Though six to twelve inches were common over the southwest half to two thirds of the state, it took 36 to 60 hours to fall. It was fortunate the winds were only in the 10 to 20 MPH range. The low wind speeds limited drifting of snow. Even so, reports over the south two tiers of counties indicated drifts as high as four feet in places. |
| Yearyear | 1,997 |
Provenance
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Storage: spine