Power Outage in Spencer, IA

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle overnight and much of the morning accumulated to one to two tenths of an inch, especially on elevated surfaces, including powerlines which resulted in brief power outages. Precipitation changed to snow during the midday and afternoon, and totaled 2.5 inches 4 miles west northwest of Everly and 1.7 inches at Spencer.

Hazardous travel conditions producing several minor accidents resulted from a period of light freezing rain which brought ice accumulations up to two tenths of an inch. Light snowfall followed with less than an inch accumulation. Several power outages were reported around the Sioux City metro area.

Freezing rain of over a quarter inch caused icy roads, and accumulated on trees, power lines, and other surfaces. Spencer reported 0.32 inch of rain during a time when temperatures were at or below freezing. Law enforcement agencies reported a few vehicles accidents on the ice, but no known injuries, with traffic being light because of the holiday, business closings, and activity cancellations. Light winds limited damage to trees and power lines, with only small branches breaking off.

Westerly winds behind a cold front reach sustained speed of 40 to 45 mph for a few hours. The high winds caused spotty power line and traffic light damage.

A period of precipitation began with freezing rain quickly producing heavy ice accumulations, ranging up to between a quarter and half inch. The precipitation then changed to sleet and then snow, with sleet and snow accumulations reaching 2 to 4 inches. Many branches, limbs, whole trees, and power lines were downed by the weight of ice and accompanying wind, especially over the northern part of the county. Both urban areas and rural electric cooperatives suffered major power line damage. Trees and tree debris blocked many roads, and damaged several vehicles and homes. Major power outages were reported, affecting thousands of people. The winter precipitation made travel impossible in many areas, resulting in schools and businesses being forced to close.

A tornado damaged several power poles.

Thunderstorm winds blew down trees and power lines.

Freezing rain produced a quarter to a half inch of glaze accumulation, with similar sleet accumulations over the glaze. Travel and walking surfaces were made very icy, and the ice accumulations caused an unknown amount of damage to trees and power lines.

A tornado destroyed or heavily damaged numerous outbuildings on at least 8 affected farmsteads, with damaged buildings including several large sheds. The tornado damaged numerous grain bins, most of which were carried off their foundations, with some being carried as much as a half mile. The ornado also overturned a camper, blew the top off a silo, destroyed a garage, broke windows on a house, and caused considerable damage to trees, power poles, and power lines.

High winds blew down power lines in Peterson.

A tornado damaged trees. power lines, and several farm structures.

High winds caused widespread tree damage, including several trees blown down. In Everly, the roof of a welding and repair business was blown off, and several storage units under construction were destroyed. Near Spencer, the roof of a mobile home was blown off. Power lines and poles were also damaged by the wind.

Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, with several streets blocked by fallen trees. Some vehicles were damaged by tree debris. The winds tore a wall and part of the roof from a racquet club building. Power lines and poles were blown down, resulting in a one hour power outage which affected almost all of the city of Spencer.

After a 2 to 4 inch fluffy snow accumulation across most of northwest Iowa on December 21 and 22, a strong Arctic front surged through the area with strong and gusty northwest winds from 35 to 55 mph, creating widespread whiteout conditions. Most county, state, and federal highways were either impassable or with travel not recommended. Drifts as high as 5 to 10 feet were documented through social media. Numerous accidents and stranded vehicles complicated recovery efforts. School, county, and state operations were cancelled for several days when conditions were coupled with life-threatening wind chills. Winds resulted in spotty power outages around the Iowa Great Lakes.

The first phase of a large and long-duration winter storm brought strong warming aloft atop a deep cold layer. With areas of freezing rain and drizzle, significant ice accumulations spread across portions of northwest Iowa. Spotty minor power outages and broken tree limbs were reported.

A cluster of thunderstorms developed across eastern Montana and the western Dakotas during the morning hours. These storms organized and turned southeastward, feeding on rich inflow of post-frontal air with up to 3000 J/kg of MLCAPE and over 1000 J/kg of DCAPE. Along with strong storm-relative shear, parameters favored development of a strong cold pool and balanced mesocyclone, which spread southeast with the cluster and developed a strong and long-duration severe wind event which traversed South Dakota, southwest Minnesota, extreme northeast Nebraska, and northwest Iowa during the afternoon and early evening. The storm was classified as a derecho, and featured numerous wind gusts from 70 to 100 mph and considerable damage to trees, crops, powerlines, and structures along its path.

A volatile environment featured a warm front from parts of east central South Dakota into western Minnesota, with a dryline extending to the southwest into Nebraska. With a very strong wave moving northeast through Nebraska into a highly unstable and highly sheared environment, scattered storms initiated and quickly grew upscale to a broad linear structure with damaging winds. With crop development well behind schedule and many fields yet to be planted, there was ample dirt available to be lofted into the leading edge of the storms, which took on the characteristics of a haboob reducing visibility to near zero at the onset of high winds.||A broad swath of winds from 70 to 100 mph devastated much of southeast South Dakota, and portions of southwest Minnesota, northeast Nebraska and northwest Iowa, causing extensive tree and structural damage and scores of injuries. The highest observed wind gust was 107 mph near Tripp, SD. In addition, vehicles and high profile vehicles were blown off several roads, shutting down traffic on Interstates 29 and 90. Two (direct) fatalities occurred in vehicles impacted by debris as the storms moved into the Sioux Falls area. Power was disrupted in a widespread area, with estimates of over 45,000 customers impacted at one time. Many schools were closed due to damage and power issues. The South Dakota Governor requested and was granted a Presidential Disaster Declaration for damage to public infrastructure at an estimated cost of 6.7 million dollars across 20 counties and two reservations. Private losses were a much higher toll, and just one of the impacted counties (McCook) estimated at least 150 to 175 million dollars in damage. Presidential Disaster Declarations were also granted in Dixon County, Nebraska and Lincoln County, Minnesota.||Following the afternoon line of storms, a secondary band of storms developed near the core of the upper level jet across eastern Nebraska in the early evening hours. These storms also quickly become severe, with a mix of large hail, damaging wind, and even an isolated tornado near Sioux City. This cluster of storms moved through far southeast South Dakota, northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota during the evening.

Elevated instability from 1000-2000 J/kg along with 40-50 kt deep-layer shear sustained organized convection pushing though southeast South Dakota, southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa. Winds averaged from 60 to 80 mph along the path of the large scale bow echo, producing significant damage to trees and power lines, and minor damage to buildings along the path.

Freezing rain produced ice accumulations of a quarter to a half inch in part of northwest Iowa, from Sioux City to Spencer and southeast, including Storm Lake. The icing occurred from shortly after midnight through the daytime hours. There was widespread icing on roads, trees, power lines, and other surfaces. The impact of the widespread heavy icing was fairly limited for several reasons. Traffic was very limited because the day was a holiday, and because some businesses closings and activity cancellations were announced ahead of the storm. Winds remained light, limiting the breakage of ice covered trees and power lines. There were several vehicle accidents, but they were not numerous in any given area.

Heavy precipitation with rapid cooling produced a combination of freezing rain, sleet, and snow over much of northwest Iowa from the evening hours of April 9th, to the morning of April 11th. Moderate to heavy ice accumulations were reported mostly near the northern border of the state. This was followed by light to moderate snow and sleet accumulations. The ice accumulations, greater than a half inch in some areas, caused major tree and power line damage in the ice storm area. Fallen branches and limbs were numerous, trees were destroyed, roads were blocked, and some vehicles and homes suffered damages from the falling trees, limbs, and branches. There were also major power outages because of the power line and power pole damage. Strong winds with and following the storm, not strong enough to cause significant damage under dry conditions, contributed greatly to the tree and power line damage. The snow and sleet accumulations made travel difficult, especially in areas where downed trees and power lines were already causing road blockages. Both ice and snow accumulations were less, and caused fewer problems, further south, including the Sioux City to Storm Lake areas.

Freezing rain produced ice accumulations of a quarter inch or a little more in the Sioux City to Storm lake areas of northwest Iowa.Travel and walking were made extremely hazardous, and power lines and trees were damaged.

Snow, producing heavy accumulations, was accompanied by winds gusting over 40 mph. The snow began early on March 1st after a brief respite from the previous snowfall, with winds increasing as the day went on. Blizzard conditions with widespread near zero visibility in snow and blowing snow resulted. Roads were blocked by drifting and travel was made impossible or extremely difficult. Numerous businesses and schools were forced to close, and school athletic events and other activities were cancelled. Of those who did attempt to travel during the storm, several vehicles were stranded and others slid off roads. There were a few reports of power outages. The blizzard followed another significant snow 1 to 2 days before. The snow decreased on the night of March 2nd, with blizzard conditions abating by early morning on March 3rd. New snow accumulations ranged from 6 to 15 inches.

Sustained winds of 40 to 45 mph with gusts around 60 mph persisted from late morning until late afternoon. The winds caused widespread tree damage with branches and smaller tree debris broken off. There were also reports of power lines down and resulting power outages in the Sioux City and Spencer areas. There was damage to shingles and gutters on numerous homes. The roof of a shopping mall was damaged at Spencer, and the roof of an auto parts building was damaged at Sioux City. A semi truck was blown off U.S. Highway 75 near Merrill.

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle greatly impacted travel by causing slippery roads. Several schools were closed, or delayed the following morning. Ice accumulation on power lines caused a power outage affecting about three thousand people in the Spirit Lake area. The precipitation occurred from before daybreak to late evening, and was mixed with light snow at times.

Heavy wet snow accumulated to 6 to 10 inches over a large area. The snowfall caused travel and event delays, including school delays and closings. A few power lines were reported down in the Sioux City area. The snowfall was suspected to be a contributing factor in several accidents.

Freezing rain was followed by 4 to 7 inches of snow. Power lines and poles were down in parts of northwest Iowa, most notably in the Spirit Lake area, where over 2 thousand customers lost power. The freezing rain also slowed or halted travel and contributed to many accidents. The snow was accompanied by winds gusting to 45 mph, causing blowing and drifting snow with near zero visibilities at times.

Considerable freezing rain fell, producing icing which caused many vehicles to slide off roads. Scattered tree and power line damage was reported. The freezing rain was followed by snow, which produced accumulations ranging from less than an inch to near 4 inches. Winds gusting to over 40 mph accompanied and followed the snowfall, greatly reducing visibilities in blowing snow and causing drifting snow. The icing combined with the blowing and drifting snow made travel impossible in some areas. Some businesses were forced to close.

Freezing rain produced ice storm conditions in some areas, with scattered reports of tree and power line damage. The freezing rain was followed by 2 to 5 inches of snow, along with strong winds producing areas of blowing and drifting snow. Travel was difficult, and many schools and businesses closed.

HIgh winds with sustained speeds of 40 to 50 mph and gusts above 65 mph persisted from early afternoon into early evening. Numerous shingles were blown off of roofs and a few power lines were blown down. Several grass fires were exacerbated by the wind, especially near Sioux City.