Northeast Iowa was hit by a blizzard during the afternoon of January 26th. Sustained winds of 25 to 40 mph with gusts around 60 mph produced widespread whiteout conditions where the visibility was reduced to a quarter mile or less. The winds also caused severe drifting to occur, with drifts 8 to 10 feet high, making many roads impassable.  Some roads remained closed into the 27th when a three mile long backup of vehicles occurred on U.S. Highway 63 in Chickasaw County. The Floyd Fire Department (Floyd County) provided shelter at its station for more than 35 stranded travelers. In both Floyd and Winneshiek Counties, over 20 vehicles became stuck in the snow. The stage was set for the blizzard to occur when a system passed across the region during the evening of the 25th and early morning of 26th and produced 2 to 3 inches of light fluffy snow. This snow then was used by the winds, along with additional falling light snow, to create the blizzard conditions behind a strong area of low pressure that moved across central Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. The highest measured wind gust was 62 mph from the automated weather observing equipment at the Charles City (Floyd County) airport.

Blizzard in ALLAMAKEE, IOWA
From 26-JAN-14 15:00:00 to 26-JAN-14 21:15:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Northwest winds between 25 and 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 55 mph, created a period of blizzard conditions across Allamakee County. As a result of the blizzard, numerous roads were impassable due to severe drifting with some vehicles becoming trapped in the snow. All schools in the county were closed on the 27th from a combination of the conditions left behind by the blizzard and extremely cold wind chills.

Blizzard in CHICKASAW, IOWA
From 26-JAN-14 15:15:00 to 26-JAN-14 22:55:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Northwest winds between 25 and 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 55 mph, created a period of blizzard conditions across Chickasaw County. As a result of the blizzard, numerous roads were impassable due to severe drifting with some vehicles becoming trapped in the snow. All schools in the county were closed on the 27th from a combination of the conditions left behind by the blizzard and extremely cold wind chills. The highest measured wind gust during the blizzard was 52 mph from a mesonet weather observing equipment near Ionia.

Blizzard in CLAYTON, IOWA
From 26-JAN-14 15:45:00 to 26-JAN-14 22:35:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Northwest winds between 25 and 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 55 mph, created a period of blizzard conditions across Clayton County. As a result of the blizzard, numerous roads were impassable due to severe drifting with some vehicles becoming trapped in the snow. All schools in the county were closed on the 27th from a combination of the conditions left behind by the blizzard and extremely cold wind chills.

Blizzard in FAYETTE, IOWA
From 26-JAN-14 15:35:00 to 26-JAN-14 22:35:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Northwest winds between 25 and 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 55 mph, created a period of blizzard conditions across Fayette County. As a result of the blizzard, numerous roads were impassable due to severe drifting with some vehicles becoming trapped in the snow. All schools in the county were closed on the 27th from a combination of the conditions left behind by the blizzard and extremely cold wind chills. The highest measured wind gust during the blizzard was 54 mph from the automated weather observing equipment at the Oelwein airport.

Blizzard in FLOYD, IOWA
From 26-JAN-14 14:55:00 to 26-JAN-14 23:15:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Northwest winds between 25 and 40 mph with gusts of 55 to 65 mph, created a period of blizzard conditions across Floyd County. As a result of the blizzard, numerous roads were impassable due to severe drifting with some vehicles becoming trapped in the snow. All schools in the county were closed on the 27th from a combination of the conditions left behind by the blizzard and extremely cold wind chills. The highest measured wind gust during the blizzard was 62 mph from the automated weather observing equipment at the Charles City airport.

Blizzard in HOWARD, IOWA
From 26-JAN-14 14:35:00 to 26-JAN-14 21:45:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Northwest winds between 25 and 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 55 mph, created a period of blizzard conditions across Howard County. As a result of the blizzard, numerous roads were impassable due to severe drifting with some vehicles becoming trapped in the snow. All schools in the county were closed on the 27th from a combination of the conditions left behind by the blizzard and extremely cold wind chills.

Blizzard in MITCHELL, IOWA
From 26-JAN-14 14:35:00 to 26-JAN-14 21:10:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Northwest winds between 25 and 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 55 mph, created a period of blizzard conditions across Mitchell County. As a result of the blizzard, numerous roads were impassable due to severe drifting with some vehicles becoming trapped in the snow. All schools in the county were closed on the 27th from a combination of the conditions left behind by the blizzard and extremely cold wind chills.

Blizzard in WINNESHIEK, IOWA
From 26-JAN-14 14:55:00 to 26-JAN-14 21:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Northwest winds between 25 and 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 55 mph, created a period of blizzard conditions across Winneshiek County. As a result of the blizzard, numerous roads were impassable due to severe drifting with some vehicles becoming trapped in the snow. All schools in the county were closed on the 27th from a combination of the conditions left behind by the blizzard and extremely cold wind chills. The highest measured wind gust during the blizzard was 52 mph from the automated weather observing equipment at the Decorah airport.