About NWS Des Moines

The goal of this blog is to evaluate a blogging capability for the NWS in order to better-establish requirements for operational blogging and social media distribution for future implementation nationally. This is a prototype blog and is NOT supported 24×7 and may become unavailable without notice. In addition, this blog site is not in any way meant to serve as a replacement for any NWS web sites. Please visit our official website http://www.weather.gov/desmoines for the latest NWS weather information.

On this Date in Iowa Weather History: 1959 Girl’s State Basketball Winter Storm

March 14, 2017 by NWS Des Moines

On March 14-16, 1959, a major winter storm struck Iowa as a potent low pressure center moved east northeast out of Kansas into central Illinois resulting in 6 deaths and 1 injury. Precipitation began in southern Iowa as rain on the morning of the 14^th then started to switch to a heavy wet snow by afternoon. The heaviest snowfall occurred overnight on the 14^th-15^th, with 4 inches or more falling in a wide swath from southwest to northeast across the state and some areas within that band receiving 8 to 10 inches. The highest reported storm total snowfall accumulations included 12.5 inches at New Hampton, 12.0 inches at Cresco, and 10.0 inches at Clarion, Fayette, and Fort Dodge. Winds gusting to as high as 60 mph caused severe blowing and drifting of the snow, commonly producing drifts up to 10 feet deep. There were even reports in northeastern Iowa with drifts as deep as 15 feet! Across about the southern half of the state, the heavy snow remained very wet and froze to all surfaces. As a result, thousands of trees, utility poles and lines were snapped or heavily damaged. Even after the heavy snow ended on the 15^th, frozen surfaces and high winds continued to make travel impossible across most of the state. In fact, Des Moines and Dubuque authorities prohibited any travel to or from their cities. Also in Des Moines, there were 5,000 basketball fans attending the girls state tournament that spent the night in the Veterans Memorial Stadium building.

NWS Des Moines Participates in the Girls in Science Festival

March 13, 2017April 2, 2017 by NWS Des Moines

For the second year in a row, the NWS DMX has participated in the Girls in Science Festival held annually at the Science Center of Iowa. The goal of the festival is for girls of all ages to explore a variety of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers and connect with female role models and mentors. It is one of several STEM events held throughout the year for girls to meet successful women scientists and be encouraged to pursue STEM careers.

This year Senior Meteorologist Mindy Beerends and 3 female ISU Meteorology students teamed together to staff the NWS booth at the event. Several different science experiments were available for the girls to learn about the weather and the role science plays in everyday weather phenomena. Girls were able to see how clouds hold water and then make rain when they become filled with too much water by using a glass filled with water, a shaving cream cloud, and then additional food-colored water was added. When the shaving cream cloud could no longer hold the additional water, the colored water rained down beneath the shaving cream cloud. Another experiment involved girls learning about how the rotation of the earth causes a curvature in the winds known as the Coriolis Effect. This force causes objects such as the wind to be deflected toward the right in the northern hemisphere, and toward the left in the southern hemisphere. Girls also learned about evaporative cooling effects and the wind chill by using hand sanitizer and a fan blown on their hands.

Several little budding scientists had fun with all the experiments and really enjoyed making the clouds and rain; a few artists were noted as well using the colored water! Meteorology as a career was also highlighted when Mindy gave a presentation in a breakout session discussing her journey to becoming a STEM professional. Her presentation discussed how she became interested in weather, how she chose where to go to school, and how she started her career in the NWS. Additionally the girls learned what a meteorologist in the NWS does, and what specialty STEM careers are available in the NWS such as a hurricane specialist flying through hurricanes to help with the forecast and tracking, or an incident meteorologist forecasting weather conditions for wild fires while being stationed at the firefighter camp of the wild fire. Hopefully many of the girls attending were able to continue their interests in science, and be inspired to pursue a STEM career.

Blog post by Mindy Beerends, Lead Forecaster

On This Date In Iowa Weather History – January 28-30, 1909 Blizzard

January 29, 2017January 29, 2017 by NWS Des Moines

1909: A very severe blizzard struck the majority of Iowa from January 28-30, 1909. The storm began with light rain during the day on the 28^th then changed to heavy rain that evening and to snow overnight. Very strong northwest winds whipped the snow into large drifts, reduced visibility to near zero, damaged homes and businesses, broke windows, and blew down thousands of windmills, utility poles, and outbuildings. Temperatures plummeted as the northwest winds kicked up with readings at Audubon plummeting from 40°F to -8°F in less than 24 hours. The highest winds occurred during the early morning hours on the 29^th with gusts of 60 to 75 mph across portions of western Iowa including a peak of 72 mph at Sioux City. Thousands of livestock died from exposure as many would not face the storm to seek shelter. Many observers across about the northwestern two thirds of Iowa noted that this was the worst storm in several decades.

Taken from the 1909 Iowa Annual Climate Summary. Full page is below.

: Iowa Annual Climate Summary – 1909

: Accumulated snowfall from January 28-30, 1909

On This Date In Iowa Weather History – 1991 Halloween Storm

October 31, 2016November 1, 2016 by NWS Des Moines

1991: A major winter storm pounded the upper Midwest from October 30^th into November 2^nd with some of the most severe effects occurring on Halloween. Snow moved into southern Iowa on the afternoon of the 30^th and changed to mixed precipitation and ice on the morning of the 31^st and continuing into late afternoon on November 1^st. Total ice accumulations ranged from 1 to 2 inches from southwest into north central Iowa and 2 to 3 inches across southern and southeast Minnesota. In northwest Iowa, the precipitation fell as all snow. Total snow accumulations of 8 inches or more blanketed the area with 15.0 inches falling at Estherville. Stong winds produced blizzard conditions into November 2^nd. The damage and hazardous travel conditions were so severe and extensive that 52 of the 99 counties in Iowa were declared disaster areas. Highways and interstates were closed across most of the state and Halloween festivities were cancelled at many locations. As the storm system moved further northeast it dumped 36.9 inches of snow at Duluth which, at the time, was the largest storm total snowfall accumulation on record in Minnesota until it was surpassed in 1994.

Extreme cold followed the crippling Halloween Storm from November 4-8, 1991. With the fresh snow pack in place, on November 4^th nearly every reporting station in the state fell into the single digits and remarkably some western stations reported their earliest subzero temperatures on record, including Sioux City where the low was -3°F. Des Moines and Waterloo both established daily records with a low of 4°F. The lowest temperatures reported on the morning of the 4^th included -7°F at Sioux Rapids, -9°F at Hawarden, -10°F at Sheldon, and -11°F at Cherokee. Amazingly, even colder weather would settle across Iowa a few days later with nearly the entire state falling below zero on the mornings of November 7^th and 8^th. On the 7^th many stations set daily record lows and at numerous locations this is the earliest date on record on which the temperature has fallen below zero, including at Des Moines where the low was -3°F. The lowest reported temperatures in Iowa that morning included -12°F at Audubon, -13°F at Perry, -14°F at Le Mars, -15°F at Sheldon, -16°F at Guthrie Center, -17°F at Cherokee, and -19°F at Hawarden. On the morning of the 8^th reported low temperatures included -2°F at Burlington, -8°F at Bedford and Grinnell, -11°F at Sac City, -12°F at Atlantic and Le Mars, -13°F at Cherokee and Perry, and -14°F at Guthrie Center.

: Regional map of the the Halloween 1991 winter storm.

: Accumulated Snowfall across Iowa from October 30 to November 2, 1991. The bulk of the precipitation fell on Halloween 1991 much of the eastern two-thirds of the state receiving freezing rain.

: Regional map of the bitter cold temperatures on November 7, 1991.

: Bitter cold temperatures followed the Halloween Winter Storm with the coldest day occurring on November 7, 1991.

On this Date in Iowa Weather History – 1997

October 26, 2016October 26, 2016 by NWS Des Moines

October 25-26, 1997

A major winter storm moved into western Iowa just before midnight on October 25^th and spread across about the southeastern two thirds of the state on the 26^th. Two bands of heavy snow developed, one extending from Council Bluffs northeast through Boone and the other extending from northern Ringgold County northeast to around Cedar Rapids. The heaviest snowfall accumulations included 11.3 inches at Knoxville and an amazing 13.0 inches southwest of Mineola in Pottawattamie County. Electricity was lost to tens of thousands of homes and businesses in central and southern Iowa as snow laden trees fell onto power lines. This was the most significant heavy snow so early in the season in Iowa since the storm of October 16-17, 1898. On the morning of the 27^th temperatures plummeted, with the aid of the fresh snow pack on the ground, bottoming out at 9 F at Atlantic and Guthrie Center which was the coldest Iowa temperature recorded so early in the season since 1972. While this system produced nearly all of the snow that fell during the month of October 1997, it was still enough to make it the third-snowiest October on record in Iowa only behind those of 1898 and 1925.

: Total snowfall accumulation from a major winter storm that occurred on October 25-26, 1997.

: Average Minimum Temperature on the morning of October 27, 1997 after a major winter storm.

Halloween Climate Statistics

October 21, 2016 by NWS Des Moines

Des Moines and Waterloo Halloween Climatology

Hazard Services – Improving Hazard Communication

August 7, 2016August 7, 2016 by NWS Des Moines

Currently, National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters must use several different software applications to compose and provide warnings, watches and advisories and related information for hazardous weather. Each tool also has different abilities to support the forecasters in their decision-making. Since each tool is uniquely designed, forecasters must learn each one and be able to quickly switch between them multiple times while on duty.

Hazard Services–an AWIPS software application presently in development–is an integral part of the NWS’s Weather-Ready Nation vision. Hazard Services represents a paradigm shift in how the NWS will communicate hazard information and aims to streamline NWS operations by integrating the functionality of the aforementioned tools into a single interface for providing timely, accurate and actionable hazard information. Within this single interface, Hazard Services will analyze data from various inputs and assist the forecaster in diagnosing and communicating the hazard information. In addition, Hazard Services will also shift the present focus on legacy text products to multiple pathways of communication such as social media, cell phones, graphics, text and XML. Thus, Hazard Services will act as a conduit for transforming leading-edge science into timely, accurate and actionable information to the end user in ways that meet their needs.

Hazard Services is also designed to be highly configurable, flexible and extensible. While work continues on the operational version for NWS local forecast offices, experimental efforts are underway to extend Hazard Services to regional and National offices such as River Forecast Centers and National Centers. An added advantage of using the same application across various levels of the NWS is the opportunity to share forecast information for consistency and collaboration which will help facilitate a unified NWS message.

Thus far, most of the Hazard Services development and testing work has involved hydrologic hazards such as river floods and flash floods. Hydrologic hazards were chosen for the initial work because local NWS offices presently use three different software applications to inform its partners and users about them—the most of any hazard. All other weather-related hazards require only one or two of the three software applications. In addition, hydrologic hazards have uniquely complicated considerations regarding watches, warnings, advisories and outlooks for them. Once the complexities of the three different software applications—as well as the inherent complexities of hydrologic hazards can be successfully addressed—then the lessons learned can be used address the other weather-related hazards.

Jeff Zogg, Senior Service Hydrologist at NWS Des Moines has been involved in Hazard Services development and testing for a few years. He also participates in the national Hazard Services Tiger and Test Teams. These teams help guide software enhancements, fixes and tests. Jeff has also participated in some of these tests. During the tests Jeff was part of a group of approximately five people who used Hazard Services as they would during an actual hazardous weather event. The tests lasted around two to three days and used weather and water data from actual past events. Testers documented software performance and stability issues—as well as enhancement suggestions—and then submitted them to the Tiger Team for prioritization on the list of items for software developers to address.

To date, 16 formal tests have occurred. Two additional tests are planned through mid-September. Within the several months, a readiness review will be conducted to determine if the process can move to the next step which involves assessment tests at four or five different sites around the country. There, Hazard Services will be put through additional rigorous but longer-term testing for a variety of different hazards. Once Hazard Services passes another readiness review after that step, it will be tested at local NWS offices. A final readiness review will then determine if and when Hazard Services will be ready to become operational and thus replace the existing software applications. Although the exact timetable of these steps is unknown, it is hoped to be completed within the next few years.

: Hazard Information dialog box in Hazard Services. This particular dialog box is for a River Flood Warning.

: Hazard Information Display screen in Hazard Services. Multiple test hazards are shown on the map including Flash Flood Warning, River Flood Warning and Flood Watch.

Blog post by Jeff Zogg, Senior Service Hydrologist, NWS Des Moines

National Weather Service Partners for Iowa Heat Awareness

August 6, 2016August 6, 2016 by NWS Des Moines

National Weather Service Des Moines partnered with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management for Iowa Heat Awareness from June 6-10, 2016.

Throughout the week, several partners assisted in promoting heat awareness and heat safety information. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed a proclamation highlighting heat safety and impacts. KCCI-TV, a CBS affiliate, conducted 6 live shots at the weather forecast office during the station’s morning broadcast on June 8^th and interviewed Warning Coordination Meteorologist Kelsey Angle.

National Weather Service Des Moines partnered with the Polk County Health Department for a vehicle heat demonstration on June 9^th. Hydrometeorological Technician Brad Fillbach installed a Maximum-Minimum Temperature System (MMTS) radiation shield and display unit in a GOV vehicle. The demonstration showed how quickly the temperature inside a vehicle can change in a short amount of time. Polk County Health Department Educator and Public Information Officer, Nola Aigner assisted with describing the health impacts to children and pets. The demonstration was attended by local television stations and broadcast live by UnityPoint Health through their Facebook page.

During the vehicle heat demonstration and throughout the week, the forecast office also provided updates and briefings through social media including Facebook, Twitter and Periscope. Forecaster Ken Podrazik, Meteorologist Intern Kurt Kotenberg, Meteorologist Intern Allan Curtis and Meteorologist Intern Kevin Skow provided 10 briefings through Periscope.

(Left to Right) Nola Aigner, Educator and Public Information Officer, Polk County Health Department; Ken Podrazik, Forecaster, National Weather Service Des Moines

(Left to Right) Kelsey Angle, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Weather Service Des Moines; Alyx Sacks, Anchor/Reporter, KCCI-TV

Maximum-Minimum Temperature System (MMTS) radiation shield and display

Heat Demonstration Vehicle

March 2023
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
« Mar
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

Blog post by Mindy Beerends, Lead Forecaster

Other Stories or Resources on the 1991 Halloween Winter Storm/Blizzard

October 25-26, 1997

Des Moines and Waterloo Halloween Climatology

This is culmination of articles written by staff members at the National Weather Service in Des Moines, Iowa. The following links will open each blog post in a new window. All of the articles can also be found on the Weather Whisper Blog.

Climate Information

Preparedness, Outreach, and Decision Support

Science and Technology

Blog post by Jeff Zogg, Senior Service Hydrologist, NWS Des Moines

Blog post by Kelsey Angle, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, NWS Des Moines