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Most of our snows are small ones

We’re in the middle of a slow-moving weather system that’s bringing a prolonged snow, albeit a light one. The vast majority of our snowfalls are light; not many cross the six-inch mark. Cedar Rapids averages about 21 days each year with measurable snow (at least 0.1”). About 11 days stay under an inch and 18 days have less than three inches. Since 2010, Cedar Rapids has had only nine two-day snowfalls of at least six inches. There were a couple in 2019 and 2018, but none in 2017 or 2016. In Dubuque, there are about 28 days each year with measurable snow. 16 of those are less than an inch, and 24 days come in under three inches. Dubuque has had 15 two-day snowfalls of at least six inches since 2010. Iowa City gets just 14 to 15 days of measurable snow each year, on average. Five of them are less than an inch and 11 are less than three inches. Iowa City has picked up nine two-day snowfalls of at least six inches since 2010. It’s worth noting that four of them were either 6.0” on those nose or 6.1”. Finally, Waterloo averages 26 days of measurable snow each year. 15 of those are less than an inch. 23 are less than three inches. Waterloo does manage to pick up more two-day snowfalls of at least six inches. There have been 21 of them there since 2010.

The ol’ January temperature switcheroo

The first half of this month was relatively mild. From January 1st through 15th, the average temperature in Cedar Rapids was 27.8 degrees. That was good enough for a tie for the 16th-warmest first half of January. (By the way, that was right behind last year’s 27.9 degrees – but there are no signs of the bottom dropping out anytime soon!) The warmest high was 58 degrees, which was fifth-warmest on record for that period. Then we finally got smacked with some cold air. The high on the 16th was 8 degrees and on Sunday it was 7. That was the coldest high since March 4th, 2019, when the high was also 7 degrees. Here’s how the rest of the area did. Dubuque Average temperature January 1-15: 27.3 (16th-warmest) Cold since then: 12 on the 19th and 16th (coldest since March 4, 2019) Iowa City Average temperature January 1-15: 31.7 (warmest, but only 30 years of records) Cold since then: 10 on the 19th (coldest since February 8, 2019) Waterloo Average temperature January 1-15: 26.6 (10th-warmest) Cold since then: 8 on the 19th and 6 on the 16th (coldest since January 31, 2019)

Great Lakes ice cover below normal for now

Our warmer-than-normal December here in Iowa also played out over the Great Lakes. As a result, ice cover has been below normal and lake effect snow will likely continue there over the next few weeks. Ice coverage last year at this time was about the same as it is now, then rapidly increased to around 90% coverage by the first week of March! This was due to the extreme weather pattern flip that occurred as stubborn cold air hung around. Why do we care in Iowa? Great Lakes ice coverage above 70% in early March seems to loosely correlate with cooler March and April temperatures.

Snowfall reports for January 12, 2020

A fast-moving system brought snow to mainly northern Iowa Sunday evening. New Hampton, IA: 4.0” Plainfield, IA: 4.0” Nashua, IA: 3.5” Charles City, IA: 3.3” Prairie du Chien, WI: 3.3” Nora Springs, IA: 3.1” Marble Rock, IA: 3.0” Volga, IA: 3.0” Fayette, IA: 3.0” Charles City, IA: 2.8” Postville, IA: 2.6” Decorah, IA: 2.6” Hawkeye, IA: 2.5” Iowa Falls, IA: 2.5” Elma, IA: 2.4” Lancaster, WI: 2.3” Cresco, IA: 2.2” Conrad, IA: 2.1" Stanley, IA: 2.1” Coggon: 2.0" Oelwein, IA: 2.0” Marshalltown, IA: 2.0” Garwin, IA: 2.0” Iowa Falls, IA: 2.0” Strawberry Point, IA: 2.0” Guttenberg, IA: 2.0” Grundy Center, IA: 1.8” Clutier, IA: 1.5" Rickardsville, IA: 1.2” Boscobel, WI: 1.0” Keota, IA: 1.0" Calmar, IA: 0.9” Decorah, IA: 0.9” Cedar Rapids, IA: 0.8” Cuba City, WI: 0.8" Hiawatha, IA: 0.8” Floris, IA: 0.5”

Beyond the Weather: A year’s worth of meteor showers

Perhaps you made a resolution to spend more time outside with family and friends. How about having everyone over to watch a meteor shower? For your planning purposes, here is the list of remaining meteor showers in 2020 and their peak. Happy stargazing! April 22: Lyrids May 5: Eta Aquariids Late July: Delta Aquariids August 12: Perseids October 7: Draconids October 21: Orionids November 4-5: South Taurids November 11-12: North Taurids November 17: Leonids December 13-14: Geminids December 22: Ursids