A strong Alberta clipper dropped out of the northern Plains spreading snow across much of the region on January 6-7, 2010.  Snow began across eastern Iowa during the afternoon of the 6th, before spreading east later in the evening.  Snowfall amounts of 6 to 9 inches were common across much of eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois.  However, accumulations were in the 2 to 5 inch range in southeast Iowa, western Illinois and extreme northeast Missouri.  The highest total reported was 9.8 inches at Bertram in Linn county in eastern Iowa.
The system was mainly forced by the upper levels, where dynamics helped to organize the snow into heavier bands. With a weak surface reflection, winds were also relatively light during the snowfall. This, coupled with temperatures well below normal, yielded snow to liquid ratios in excess of 20:1, and in some cases greater than 25:1. The result was a light, fluffy, and very picturesque snow that piled up quickly. By the morning of the 7th, a dry slot had nosed into parts of the area south of Highway 34, bringing an end to accumulating snows until later in the day. This helped to hold final totals down across southeast Iowa, northeast Missouri and extreme western Illinois. With the system pulling off to the east later on the 7th, wrap around snows brought another inch or two of accumulations to some areas before tapering to flurries.

Winter Storm in DELAWARE, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 18:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 20:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in DES MOINES, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 16:45:00 to 07-JAN-10 23:45:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in CEDAR, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 17:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A COOP observer measured 6.6 inches of snow at Lowden.

Winter Storm in CLINTON, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 19:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 18:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

A CoCoRaHS observer measured 8.6 inches of snow at Camanche.

Winter Storm in BENTON, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 17:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 21:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter measured 7.0 inches of snow near Atkins.

Winter Storm in BUCHANAN, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 16:30:00 to 07-JAN-10 23:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A COOP observer measured 7.0 inches of snow at Independence.

Winter Storm in WASHINGTON, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 17:30:00 to 07-JAN-10 22:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter measured 7.0 inches of snow at Wellman.

Winter Storm in SCOTT, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 18:40:00 to 07-JAN-10 18:15:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

CoCoRaHS observers reported 8.5 inches of snow at Le Claire and 7.5 inches in  Davenport.

Winter Storm in VAN BUREN, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 15:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 23:55:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in JEFFERSON, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 15:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 23:55:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in JOHNSON, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 15:30:00 to 07-JAN-10 23:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

A CoCoRaHS observer measured 9.2 inches of snow at Solon.

Winter Storm in LEE, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 19:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 23:55:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in LINN, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 17:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 23:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter measured 9.8 inches of snow at Bertram and 7.0 inches at Cedar Rapids.

Winter Storm in DUBUQUE, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 19:15:00 to 07-JAN-10 19:45:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in HENRY, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 16:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 23:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in IOWA, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 15:30:00 to 07-JAN-10 22:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter measured 8.5 inches of snow near Parnell.

Winter Storm in JONES, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 17:30:00 to 07-JAN-10 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in KEOKUK, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 15:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 23:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in JACKSON, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 19:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 18:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A COOP observer measured 6.5 inches of snow 4 miles west of Maquoketa.

Winter Storm in LOUISA, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 16:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 22:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in MUSCATINE, IOWA
From 06-JAN-10 15:45:00 to 07-JAN-10 21:45:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Trained spotters reported 8.0 inches of snow near Muscatine, Nichols and Conesville.