National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Heat Wave Expands to the East Coast; Flash Flooding Likely in the Central Plains into the Midwest; Severe Thunderstorms in the Northeast

Dangerous, prolonged heat is ongoing in the Mid-South to Mid-Mississippi Valley and heat expands into the Northeast for a brief period today. Widely scattered instances of flash flooding due to heavy rains are forecast from northeast Kansas to much of Indiana. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are possible across parts of New England, northern Mid-Atlantic, and North Dakota. Read More >

Overview

January 30-31 2021

A strong storm system moved into the Midwest on the afternoon of January 30, 2021. Initially, precipitation began as rain as a layer of warm air was in place aloft. Over time, however, temperatures began to cool at the surface and aloft due to the falling rain, and precipitation changed to snow during the evening as a result. Some freezing rain was even measured as the transition occurred, and was most noticeable in the Cedar Rapids metro where photos showed accumulation on power lines.

Snow was widespread across the area during the morning of January 31, 2021, and all of eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and far northeast Missouri saw some form of accumulating snow. Totals were highest in parts of east central Iowa and in north central Illinois, where locally heavy banding at times on the morning of January 31 produced higher snowfall rates. Overall, totals ranged from around 4 to 6 inches, with some locally higher amounts of 7 to 8 inches reported in Buchanan and Benton counties. 

 

Official National Weather Service Observations

Amounts as of MIDNIGHT 2/1/2021
Moline, IL 3.3"
Davenport, IA 4.1"
Dubuque, IA 5.1"


Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Burlington do not measure snow as part of their climate records. Please see the Snowfall Amounts and Storm Reports sections for reported snow amounts in these locations.

Image
WPC - Surface Map and Radar Loop
nws logo Media use of NWS Web News Stories is encouraged!
Please acknowledge the NWS as the source of any news information accessed from this site.
nws logo