We've been reporting about the blizzard that is expected to hit the Midwest at the tail end of this week, just in time for holiday travel...perfect, right?
In 1973, the worst April blizzard on record in Iowa pounded the state for three days, from April 8-10. (photos and videos below)
Snow began in Iowa on the 8th coupled with wind gusts of 65 mph. Livestock and turkey losses approximated $20 million...
A Blizzard is defined as: Blowing and/or falling snow with winds of at least 35 mph, reducing visibilities to a quarter of a mile or less for at least three hours.
But how often are these issued within the state of Iowa?
The Iowa Environmental Mesonet has created a graph (below) showing the frequency of blizzard warnings in Iowa per year by county since 2007...
The Iowa DOT Tweeted at 1:50 PM that a multi-vehicle crash involving numerous semi-trucks occurred on I-80 west of Newton. About 40 vehicles were involved in the crash.
**Updated 5:30 am 2/4***
The National Weather Service in Des Moines has issued a BLIZZARD WARNING from 9 AM Thursday to 6 AM Friday for portions of Iowa including the cities of Waterloo, Marshalltown, Ames, Mason City, and Fort Dodge.
Temperatures look to remain around 35* through the early morning hours of Thursday, but then drop to around 20 by late-Thursday afternoon, to the single digits by Fr
The western half of the state is in a BLIZZARD WARNING.
The areas included in the Blizzard Warning can expect a total of 4-10" of snow and winds gusting as high as 50 MPH.
The Blizzard Warning will go into effect at 6 PM Thursday through 6 PM Friday...
The Northeastern U.S. is getting pummeled by Mother Nature this week. According to the National Weather Service Eastern Region:
Snowfall reports received as of 8:30 am. An intense snow band set up overnight around the Binghamton NY area, producing snowfall rates of 4-5" per hour...