National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Storm Systems to Impact the Central and Eastern U.S. Through the Weekend

Two storm systems will track through the central and eastern U.S. today through this weekend with areas of gusty winds, rain and heavy snow. Severe thunderstorms and heavy to excessive rainfall is forecast today from the Lower Mississippi River Valley to the Tennessee Valley. Damaging winds, a few tornadoes, and areas of flooding are possible. Read More >

Overview

A strong area of low pressure moved across the Midwest on March 4th and 5th, producing a plethora of hazardous weather to the region. This low first brought soaking rainfall on March 4th, with numerous locations reporting between one to two inches of total rainfall. Frost depths by this time were down to zero inches, which helped the rain to soak into the ground.

March 5th saw a transition from the rain to more of a rain/snow mix or all snow, especially for areas west of the Mississippi River. We also saw very strong northwest winds across the area, with numerous locations reporting max wind gusts between 40 to 50+ mph. Although the snow was relatively light (less than 2 inches), the strong winds helped lead to blowing snow and reduced visibilities down to a quarter of a mile in Dubuque and Cedar Rapids. Additionally, the winds resulted in sporadic power outages over the area.

Highest Gusts
Cedar Rapids: 56 MPH
Moline: 52 MPH
Dubuque: 45 MPH

Event Summary Image
Summary of the March 4-5, 2025 event, including a summary of wind gust reports

Central Iowa Event Summary (NWS Des Moines)

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NWS Quad Cities Past Events Page:  weather.gov/dvn/events

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