A fast moving arctic cold front brought dangerous conditions to portions of the area. Rain, mixed with freezing rain and sleet moved into eastern Iowa during the early morning, then as a cold front moved in from the west during the mid morning, the rain switched to snow. Strong winds and falling temperatures behind the front caused wet roads to quickly freeze.  Snow fell for several hours after the change over and became heavy at times, with widespread 2 to 6 inches of snowfall. Winds behind the front were 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph during the afternoon and evening causing blowing snow in open areas. Whiteout conditions were seen in open areas, and some areas experienced periods of near blizzard conditions, especially across east central and  northeast Iowa. Significant drifting snow continued into Feb. 5.  Wind chills dropped to 5 below to 15 below zero late Thursday night and Friday morning along and north of I-80.
Key impacts: transportation delays, traffic accidents, and road closures.

Winter Storm in CLINTON, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 07:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 2 and 5 inches of snow fell throughout Clinton County. Strong winds were also noted in the afternoon, with a peak gust at 45 mph reported at the Clinton Airport AWOS.

Winter Storm in CEDAR, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 07:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: COOP Observer

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 2 and 6 inches of snow fell throughout Cedar County, with 5.2 inches reported at Lowden COOP. Strong winds were also noted in the afternoon, gusting between 25 to 35 mph.

Winter Storm in DUBUQUE, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 08:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: COOP Observer

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 3 and 6 inches of snow fell throughout Dubuque County. Strong winds were also noted in the afternoon, with a peak gust at 44 mph reported at the Dubuque Airport ASOS.

Winter Storm in JONES, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 08:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 3 and 6 inches of snow fell throughout Jones County. Strong winds were also noted in the afternoon, with a peak gust at 40 mph reported at the Monticello Airport AWOS.

Winter Storm in JACKSON, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 08:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 3 and 6 inches of snow fell throughout Jackson County, with 5.5 inches in Maquoketa. Winds were also gusty at times, generally between 25 to 35 mph.

Blizzard in BUCHANAN, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 11:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: AWOS

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 3 and 4 inches of snow fell throughout the county, with a peak wind gust of 43 mph observed at the Independence AWOS. Blizzard conditions were noted through mid to late afternoon.

Blizzard in DELAWARE, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 11:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: COOP Observer

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 3 and 5 inches of snow fell throughout the county, with 4.1 inches of snow reported in Manchester. Winds gusting upwards to 45 mph were observed. Blizzard conditions were noted through mid to late afternoon.

Blizzard in BENTON, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 11:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 2 and 5 inches of snow fell throughout the county, with trained spotter reports at 4.5 and 5 inches. Blizzard conditions were noted through mid to late afternoon, with sustained winds around 25-35 mph and gusts to 45 mph.

Blizzard in IOWA, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 11:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 2 to 4 inches of snow fell throughout the county. Blizzard conditions were noted through mid to late afternoon, with winds around 25 to 35 mph and gusting to 45 mph.

Blizzard in KEOKUK, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 11:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: COOP Observer

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 3 and 5 inches of snow fell throughout the county. Blizzard conditions were noted through mid to late afternoon, with winds around 25 to 35 mph, gusting up to 45 mph.

Blizzard in LINN, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 11:30:00 to 04-FEB-21 15:50:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 3 and 7 inches of snow fell throughout the county, with 5 to 6 inches of snow throughout the Cedar Rapids metro. Blizzard conditions were noted through mid to late afternoon, with a peak wind gust of 51 mph observed at the Cedar Rapids Airport ASOS and visibilities under a quarter mile.

Blizzard in JOHNSON, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 12:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: ASOS

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 3 and 4 inches of snow fell throughout the county, with a peak wind gust of 52 mph observed at Iowa City Airport. Blizzard conditions were noted through mid to late afternoon. Visibilities under a quarter mile were also observed at the ASOS.

Blizzard in WASHINGTON, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 12:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: AWOS

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 2 and 4 inches of snow fell throughout the county, with a peak wind gust of 53 mph observed at the Washington, Iowa AWOS. Blizzard conditions were noted through mid to late afternoon.

Winter Storm in HENRY, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 07:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Public

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 1 and 4 inches of snow fell throughout Henry County. Strong winds were also noted in the afternoon, with a peak gusts between 25 to 35 mph.

Winter Storm in SCOTT, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 07:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 2 and 5 inches of snow fell throughout Scott County. 4.6 inches of snow was reported at the local office. Strong winds were also noted in the afternoon, with a peak gust at 51 mph reported at the Davenport Airport ASOS.

Blizzard in MUSCATINE, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 07:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: COOP Observer

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 2 and 5 inches of snow fell throughout Muscatine County. 2.1 inches was reported from out Muscatine COOP observer. Strong winds were also noted in the afternoon, with a peak gust at 44 mph reported at the Muscatine Airport AWOS.

Winter Storm in JEFFERSON, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 06:30:00 to 04-FEB-21 15:30:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Public

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 1 and 3 inches of snow fell throughout Jefferson County. Strong winds were also noted in the afternoon, with a peak gust at 47 mph reported at the Fairfield Airport AWOS.

Winter Storm in LOUISA, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 07:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 17:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 1 and 3 inches of snow fell throughout Louisa County. Strong winds were also noted in the afternoon, with a peak gusts around 25 to 35 mph.

Winter Storm in DES MOINES, IOWA
From 04-FEB-21 07:00:00 to 04-FEB-21 17:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Rain and wintry mix started the day, leading to snow (heavy at times), where between 1 and 3 inches of snow fell throughout Des Moines County. Strong winds were also noted in the afternoon, with a peak gust at 48 mph reported at the Burlington Airport ASOS.