A dangerous and powerful winter storm hit western Iowa during the early to mid morning hours of Thursday, March 1, 2007. Strong winds and scattered snow showers continued to produce blizzard or near blizzard conditions over a large part of western Iowa through Friday.  Although skies cleared Friday night, substantial blowing snow continued over a large part of the area into Saturday afternoon.
This storm brought heavy snow combined with very strong northwest winds to create whiteout conditions and near zero visibility. Wind gusts were frequently over 35 mph with peak gusts of 45 to 58 mph recorded Thursday and 35 to 45 mph measured on Friday. Travel became impossible and hundreds of motorists were stranded, some for many hours.  Many roads and highways were closed for 48 hours, including both Interstates 29 and 80 in western Iowa. The storm was associated with an unusually deep low pressure system, which bottomed out around 979 mb over central Iowa Thursday afternoon. The storm initially developed quickly over eastern Kansas late Wednesday.
Some of the heavier snow amounts for the 24 hours ending Friday morning included...

Across the Omaha Area; Boystown 12.8 inches, Bennington 12.0, Valley NWS 12.0, Omaha Eppley 7.1
Elsewhere in eastern Nebraska; Tekamah 11.2 inches, Fremont 9.5-10, Tecumseh 9.5, Syracuse 9.0, Bennett 9.0, Uehling 8.0, Springfield 7.0, Lincoln 6.6
Over western Iowa; Harlan 16 inches, Onawa 12, Little Sioux 11.7, Underwood 11.2, Oakland 9.5-13, Glenwood 9.5, Hancock 9.2, Kennebec 8.5, Sidney 8.0, Logan 8, Shenandoah 7, Randolph 7, and Red Oak 6.

Blizzard in MONTGOMERY, IOWA
From 01-MAR-07 06:00:00 to 01-MAR-07 22:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Thunderstorms with sleet and snow moved into the county during the early morning hours of March 1st.  Conditions quickly deteriorated toward the end of the morning rush hour as the wintry mix changed to heavy snow and northwest winds increased to 35 to 45 mph.  This produced white-out conditions, especially in open areas, which stranded many motorists.  The blizzard began around 8 am and generally lasted until 5 pm.  The snow ended during the evening and the winds dropped off a bit...allowing visibilities to improve to over a mile around 10 pm.  Heavier snow totals across the county included around 6 inches in Red Oak.

Blizzard in PAGE, IOWA
From 01-MAR-07 07:00:00 to 01-MAR-07 22:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Thunderstorms with sleet and snow moved into the county during the early morning hours of March 1st.  Conditions quickly deteriorated toward the end of the morning rush hour as the wintry mix changed to heavy snow and northwest winds increased to 35 to 45 mph.  This produced white-out conditions, especially in open areas, which stranded many motorists.  The blizzard began around 9 am and generally lasted until 6 pm.  The snow ended during the evening and the winds dropped off a bit...allowing visibilities to improve to over a mile around 10 pm.  Heavier snow totals across the county included 7 inches at Shenandoah.

Blizzard in MONONA, IOWA
From 01-MAR-07 05:00:00 to 03-MAR-07 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Snow moved into the county during the predawn hours of March 1st.  Conditions quickly deteriorated toward the end of the morning rush hour as the wintry mix changed to heavy snow and northwest winds increased to 35 to 45 mph.  This produced white-out conditions, especially in open areas, which stranded many motorists.  Snowfall decreased or ended Thursday evening but picked back up again Friday.  Even though there were periods of little or no falling snow during this prolonged event, white-out conditions continued on and off into Saturday morning before improving by early Saturday afternoon.  Blizzard conditions lasted from around 8 am until 6 pm on 3/1 and again from around 10 am through 5 pm on 3/2. The cooperative observer in Onawa reported 12 inches of snow from this storm.

Blizzard in SHELBY, IOWA
From 01-MAR-07 06:00:00 to 03-MAR-07 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Sleet and snow moved into the county during the predawn hours of March 1st.  Conditions quickly deteriorated toward the end of the morning rush hour as the wintry mix changed to heavy snow and northwest winds increased to 35 to 45 mph.  This produced white-out conditions, especially in open areas, which stranded many motorists.  Snowfall decreased or ended Thursday evening but picked back up again Friday.  Even though there were periods of little or no falling snow during this prolonged event, white-out conditions continued on and off into Saturday morning before improving by early Saturday afternoon.  Blizzard conditions lasted from around 730 am until 6 pm on 3/1 and again from around 7 am through 5 pm on 3/2. The cooperative observer in Harlan reported 16 inches of snow from this storm.

Blizzard in MILLS, IOWA
From 01-MAR-07 05:00:00 to 01-MAR-07 20:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Thunderstorms with sleet and snow moved into the county during the predawn hours of March 1st.  Conditions quickly deteriorated during the morning rush hour as the wintry mix changed to heavy snow and northwest winds increased to 35 to 45 mph.  This produced white-out conditions, especially in open areas, which stranded many motorists.  The blizzard began around 8 am and generally lasted until 3 pm.  The snow ended by early evening and the winds dropped off a bit...allowing visibilities to improve to over a mile around 8 pm.  Heavier snow totals across the county included 9.5 inches at Glenwood.

Blizzard in HARRISON, IOWA
From 01-MAR-07 04:00:00 to 01-MAR-07 22:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Sleet and snow moved into the county during the predawn hours of March 1st.  Conditions quickly deteriorated toward the end of the morning rush hour as the wintry mix changed to heavy snow and northwest winds increased to 35 to 45 mph.  This produced white-out conditions, especially in open areas, which stranded many motorists.  The blizzard began around 8 am and generally lasted until 6 pm.  The snow ended during the evening and the winds dropped off a bit...allowing visibilities to improve to over a mile around 10 pm.  Heavier snow totals across the county included nearly 12 inches at Little Sioux and 8 inches in Logan.

Blizzard in POTTAWATTAMIE, IOWA
From 01-MAR-07 04:00:00 to 01-MAR-07 22:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Thunderstorms with sleet and snow moved into the county during the predawn hours of March 1st.  Conditions quickly deteriorated during the morning rush hour as the wintry mix changed to heavy snow and northwest winds increased to 35 to 45 mph.  This produced white-out conditions, especially in open areas, which stranded many motorists.  The blizzard began around 7 am and generally lasted until 5 pm.  Although the snow ended by early evening and the winds dropped off a bit...visibilities didn't improve to over a mile until around 10 pm.  Heavier snow totals from the storm across the county included 11.2 inches in Underwood and between 9.5 and 13 inches in the Oakland area.

Blizzard in FREMONT, IOWA
From 01-MAR-07 06:00:00 to 01-MAR-07 20:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Thunderstorms with sleet and snow moved into the county during the predawn hours of March 1st.  Conditions quickly deteriorated during the morning rush hour as the wintry mix changed to heavy snow and northwest winds increased to 35 to 45 mph.  This produced white-out conditions, especially in open areas, which stranded many motorists.  The blizzard began around 8 am and generally lasted until 3 pm.  The snow ended by early evening and the winds dropped off a bit...allowing visibilities to improve to over a mile around 8 pm.  Heavier snow totals across the county included 8 inches at Sidney.

Blizzard in HARRISON, IOWA
From 02-MAR-07 06:00:00 to 03-MAR-07 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

After a temporary lull in snow and blowing snow, blizzard conditions returned to much of the county from late morning until late afternoon on 3/2.  Although additional snowfall during this time was only an inch or so, northwest winds gusting to 40 mph caused frequent white-out conditions from around 11 am until 5 pm on the 2nd.  Although the snow ended and visiblities improved some after 5 pm, considerable blowing and drifting snow lasted until around noon on the 3rd.

Blizzard in POTTAWATTAMIE, IOWA
From 02-MAR-07 11:00:00 to 03-MAR-07 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

After a temporary lull in snow and blowing snow, blizzard conditions returned to much of the county from late morning until late afternoon on 3/2.  Although additional snowfall during this time was only an inch or so, northwest winds gusting to 40 mph caused frequent white-out conditions from around 11 am until 5 pm on the 2nd.  Although the snow ended and visiblities improved some after 5 pm, considerable blowing and drifting snow lasted until late morning on the 3rd.

Winter Weather in PAGE, IOWA
From 02-MAR-07 09:00:00 to 03-MAR-07 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

After a temporary lull in snow and blowing snow Thursday night, snow showers and considerable blowing snow moved back across the county Friday morning.  Although new snowfall Friday was only an inch or so, considerable blowing and drifting snow lasted until late afternoon with near blizzard conditions occasionally observed...especially in open areas.  The snow ended Friday evening, but substantial blowing and drifting snow continued until late morning on the 3rd.

Blizzard in MONTGOMERY, IOWA
From 02-MAR-07 09:00:00 to 03-MAR-07 08:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

After a temporary lull in snow and blowing snow, blizzard conditions returned to much of the county from late morning until late afternoon on 3/2.  Although additional snowfall during this time was only an inch or so, northwest winds gusting to 40 mph caused frequent white-out conditions from around 11 am until 5 pm on the 2nd.  Even though the snow ended and visiblities improved some after 5 pm, considerable blowing and drifting snow lasted until mid morning on the 3rd.

Winter Weather in FREMONT, IOWA
From 02-MAR-07 09:00:00 to 03-MAR-07 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

After a temporary lull in snow and blowing snow Thursday night, snow showers and considerable blowing snow moved back across the county Friday morning.  Although new snowfall Friday was only an inch or so, considerable blowing and drifting snow lasted until late afternoon with near blizzard conditions occasionally observed...especially in open areas.  The snow ended Friday evening, but considerable blowing and drifting snow continued until late morning on the 3rd.

Winter Weather in MILLS, IOWA
From 02-MAR-07 10:00:00 to 03-MAR-07 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

After a temporary lull in snow and blowing snow Thursday night, snow showers and considerable blowing snow moved back across the county Friday morning.  Although new snowfall Friday was only an inch or so, considerable blowing and drifting snow lasted until late afternoon with near blizzard conditions occasionally observed...especially in open areas.  The snow ended Friday evening, but substantial blowing and drifting snow continued until late morning on the 3rd.