As Des Moines' second snowstorm in a week punished the area with more than 9 inches of fresh snow, Iowans could be forgiven for getting whiplash from how quickly the weather changed.
Des Moines has received an estimated 22.5 inches of snow since Jan. 8, the National Weather Service reported.
Elsewhere in the state, totals from Friday's storm topped 1 foot, with 14 inches of fresh snow in Fairfield and 13 inches in Muscatine. Washington reported 12 inches.
A new threat is emerging, as temperatures will sink to dangerously low levels over the next few days.
They won't climb above 0 from Saturday morning through early Tuesday, and won't return to double digits above zero ― a high of 18 degrees ― until Wednesday, the weather service reported.
The near-record snow, blizzard and extreme cold comes after Des Moines experienced the warmest December on record, with an average temperature of 37.4 degrees, the weather service said.
On nine days it had temperatures of more than 50 degrees, including Dec. 7, when the city hit a high of 61. Only on Dec. 31 did the city have a high below freezing: 31 degrees.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, campaigning for the Jan. 15 Iowa Caucuses, told the Des Moines Register in early January he was thankful he had not gotten to experience the worst of Iowa’s winter weather as he toured the state.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, campaigning for the Jan. 15 Iowa Caucuses, told the Des Moines Register in early January he was thankful he had not gotten to experience the worst of Iowa’s winter weather as he toured the state.
Now, life-threatening wind chills are on the way as Iowans prepare for Caucus Night, and within about a week, the National Weather Service has issued what it said was every kind of winter weather advisory in its arsenal:
A blizzard warning, winter storm warnings, winter storm watches, winter weather advisories, wind chill warnings, wind chill watches and wind chill advisories.
On Wednesday night the weather service even issued a rare snow squall warning when 1.2 inches of snow fell in Des Moines metro in a matter of minutes.