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Extreme Fire Weather Concerns; Severe Thunderstorms from the Plains to Mississippi Valley

Extremely critical fire weather concerns for portions of the southern High Plans as strong wind and very dry conditions could result in rapid spread of any fires. Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms are expected once again across areas of the Central and Southern Plains, then spreading in the Mississippi Valley regions on Monday. Damaging winds, very large hail and strong tornadoes are possible. Read More >

Overview

March 15, 2021

A winter storm brought a mix of precipitation and gusty winds to eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois, and far northeast Missouri on Monday, March 15. Precipitation initially began as snow, but began to mix with snow and sleet during the morning as cooler air moved into to the area aloft. Eventually, precipitation changed to all snow, and continued before winding down by midday and early afternoon.

The highest snowfall amounts were reported in eastern Iowa along the Highway 20 corridor, where around 3-5 inches of snow fell. Amounts decreased to the south and east where more mixing occurred, with areas south of Interstate 80 seeing little to no snow accumulation. This was a rather precipitation heavy event outside of snow, with Moline, IL recording just under one inch of liquid.
 

Official National Weather Service Observations

Moline, IL 1.8"
Davenport, IA 1.8"
Dubuque, IA 3.8"


Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Burlington do not measure snow as part of their climate records. Please see the Snowfall Amounts and Storm Reports sections for reported snow amounts in these locations.

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