A strong cold front passed through the state and had become stationary over southeast Iowa during the day on the first.  A band of precipitation developed behind the front and set up over northwest Iowa.  During the morning, an area of thunderstorms developed over Nebraska and lifted northeast along the line.  As the colder air moved in and the thunderstorms approached, a mixture of rain and snow changed to snow with quick accumulation of 5 to 7 inches over the far northwest part of the CWA.  Ringsted in Emmet County reported 6.5 inches before 1700 CST.  Much of the snow accumulated on grassy areas, though an accumulation of 2 to 3 inches of slush was reported.  Another round of thunderstorms developed during the evening and continued through much of the night.  A band of snow fall across southwest into north central Iowa.  North central Iowa was hit the hardest with 6 to 11 inches of snow.  The snow caused numerous power outages as the heavy wet snow stuck to trees and power lines.  Mason City was hardest hit with several thousand outages.  Sporadic outages were reported over the northwest half of the state due to the combination of wet snow and north winds of 20 to 35 MPH.  There were also numerous traffic accidents reported as roads became slick with slushy snow and ice pellet accumulations.  There were several school delays and some cancellations, however not as numerous as would have been the case during mid winter.  The main problem with roads was the slush.  Though much of the snow melted, what was left was of a wet cement consistency.  The combination of the dense snow and some road coverage lead to the high number of accidents.  A state record for heavy snowfall so late in the season was set as both Britt and the the Northwood area received 11 inches of snow.  Algona was was close behind with 10.5 inches of snow.  The previous record May snowfall in Iowa was 10 inches at LeMars on 28 May 1947.  Some of the other higher totals included 9.7 inches at Northwood in Worth County, 7.3 inches in Palo Alto County north of Whittenmore, 7 inches in Butler County at Dumont, Calhoun County at Rockwell City, Worth County at Manly, and Ringsted in Emmet County.  Mason City in Cerro Gordo County received 6.5 inches, with a little over 6 inches reported in Webster County northwest of Badger.

Heavy Snow in WRIGHT, IOWA
From 02-MAY-13 01:00:00 to 02-MAY-13 08:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy Snow in WORTH, IOWA
From 02-MAY-13 02:00:00 to 02-MAY-13 10:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy Snow in CERRO GORDO, IOWA
From 02-MAY-13 02:00:00 to 02-MAY-13 10:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 200.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy Snow in FRANKLIN, IOWA
From 02-MAY-13 03:00:00 to 02-MAY-13 10:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy Snow in POCAHONTAS, IOWA
From 01-MAY-13 22:00:00 to 02-MAY-13 08:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 75.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Snow in CALHOUN, IOWA
From 01-MAY-13 22:00:00 to 02-MAY-13 08:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 75.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Snow in WEBSTER, IOWA
From 01-MAY-13 22:00:00 to 02-MAY-13 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Snow in BUTLER, IOWA
From 02-MAY-13 04:00:00 to 02-MAY-13 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 75.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Snow in EMMET, IOWA
From 01-MAY-13 11:00:00 to 02-MAY-13 08:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

An average of 6 to 7 inches of snow on the ground so far today.  Most of the snow fell in a very short time earlier in the afternoon.  About 3 inches of wet snow was on area streets.

Heavy Snow in KOSSUTH, IOWA
From 01-MAY-13 11:00:00 to 02-MAY-13 08:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 200.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy Snow in WINNEBAGO, IOWA
From 01-MAY-13 20:30:00 to 02-MAY-13 08:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Snow in PALO ALTO, IOWA
From 01-MAY-13 20:30:00 to 02-MAY-13 08:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy Snow in HUMBOLDT, IOWA
From 01-MAY-13 20:30:00 to 02-MAY-13 08:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy Snow in HANCOCK, IOWA
From 02-MAY-13 01:00:00 to 02-MAY-13 08:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer