Iowa snowfall already nears yearly average

MELANIE S. WELTE

Associated Press Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowans shivered through Friday as bitterly cold temperatures engulfed the state on the heels of another storm that piled the snow higher and closer to what Iowa usually gets for an entire winter.

Highs in much of the state were below zero or in the single digits, and overnight lows into Saturday were expected to drop to around 20 below in northwest Iowa. That area got more than 8 inches of new snow from Thursday's storm.

In Spencer, customers escaped the cold and lined up Friday for lunch at Mowery's Bar and Grill.

"It's freezing. We're selling a lot of soups," said owner Teresa Mowery. "It's busier than normal and that's even with people not out wandering."

Iowa, on average, gets 32.4 inches of snow during the winter, according to state climatologist Harry Hillaker. The statewide average total as of Friday was 29.4 inches. That's almost 2½ feet of snow on the ground with February and March to go. The record for snowfall in Iowa is the winter of 1961-62, with a statewide average of 59 inches.

The snow and cold temperatures have forced school officials to cancel classes in many districts, including Des Moines. The state's largest school district, with about 32,000 children, remained closed Friday.

Spokeswoman Leigh McGivern said snow was the problem Thursday, but it was the cold Friday.

"Negative wind chills and blowing gusts up to 40 mph, that kind of thing, was the deciding factor. I think the issue is for children standing at bus stops," she said.

This week's storm caused snow drifts that left many rural roads impassable, especially in western Iowa. Stranded vehicles littered many highways.

At least two people died in weather-related crashes.

The Iowa Department of Transportation said snow plows were back on the roads Friday and conditions were slowly improving.

This year has been especially cold, as well as snowy, with the coldest reading being Jan. 2 when the temperature dropped to 37 below zero in Spencer.

Hillaker says the record low for Iowa is 47 below, and it happened twice - on Jan. 12, 1912, in Washta in northwest Iowa and on Feb. 3, 1996, in Elkader in the northeast.

This wintry weather comes even though it's El Nino year, characterized by unusually warm temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. When that happens, the Midwest usually has a more mild winter.

"It's misbehaving," Hillaker said.

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Associated Press writer Nigel Duara in Iowa City contributed to this report.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.