A strong arctic high pressure system brought historic cold to much of the Midwest January 29th through January 31st.  Numerous low temperature records were broken, including all-time record lows at Cedar Rapids Moline.  In addition, life threatening wind chills were reported with values below -30 degrees for many hours.  Numerous schools, churches, and businesses closed during the arctic outbreak.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in BENTON, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 12:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in JONES, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 12:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in JACKSON, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

The Savanna AWOS had a minimum wind chill value of -52 at 339 AM on January 30th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in IOWA, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 12:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in CEDAR, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in CLINTON, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

The lowest wind chill value reached was -57 at 413 AM on January 30th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in MUSCATINE, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

The lowest wind value at the Muscatine AWOS was -50 at 315 AM on January 30th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in KEOKUK, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in WASHINGTON, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

The lowest wind chill at the Washington AWOS was -51 at 215 AM on January 30th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in LOUISA, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in JEFFERSON, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 18:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 10:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

The lowest wind chill at the Fairfield AWOS was -47 at 215 AM on January 30th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in HENRY, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 10:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

The lowest wind chill value at the Mount Pleasant AWOS was -45.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in VAN BUREN, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 18:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 10:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in LEE, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 18:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 10:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

The lowest wind values at the Keokuk and Fort Madison were -43(555 AM) and -47 (235 AM) respectively.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in JOHNSON, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Low temperatures at the Iowa City Airport ASOS on the 30th and 31st were -26 and -29 Fahrenheit.  The coldest wind chill during this period were -51 at 411 AM.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in DES MOINES, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 18:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 10:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Record low temperatures were set on the mornings of the 30th and 31st when the ASOS at Burlington recorded record low temperatures of -20 and -21 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest wind chill measured at the Burlington Regional Airport ASOS was -46 at 253 AM on the 30th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in LINN, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Record low temperatures were set on January 30t and 31t when low temperatures dipped to -26 and -30 respectively. The -30 on the 31st also set the all time record low for the month and the all time record low at Cedar Rapids. Wind chill were also bitterly cold during this period with a wind chill value of -55 at 1232 AM on the 30th. There were wind chills of -30 to -55 during this period.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in JOHNSON, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Low temperatures at the Iowa City Airport ASOS on the 30th and 31st were -26 and -29 Fahrenheit.  The coldest wind chill during this period were -51 at 411 AM.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in DUBUQUE, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Record cold temperatures occurred on the 30th and 31st when the low temperatures were -29 and -31 respectively. A record cool high of -14 occurred on the 30th.  The minimum wind chill at the Dubuque Airport ASOS was -55.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in SCOTT, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 15:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Low temperatures on the 30th and 31st were -26 and -28 degrees Fahrenheit respectively.  The lowest wind chill value at the Davenport Municipal Airport was -54 at 300 AM on January 30th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in BUCHANAN, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 12:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

The lowest wind chill at the Independence AWOS was -53 at 1235 AM on the 30th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in DELAWARE, IOWA
From 29-JAN-19 12:00:00 to 31-JAN-19 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations