Winter has basically been a three-act play in central Iowa, with mild weather bookending a rough couple of cold and snowy weeks in January. Above, a look at season-to-date snowfall in Iowa.
Most of that snow fell during the aforementioned middle of January. Snow totals for the last 30 days are seen above.
And we’ve seen no snow so far during the month of February (though that will likely change by the end of the week).
The chart above shows accumulated snowfall rankings for the month of January in Des Moines since records have been kept in the late 1800’s. January 1886 leads by almost ten inches, and must’ve been a brutal month. Below, a look at highs compared to average during January of 2024.
The two images above, from the Midwest Regional Climate Center, show where the snow has fallen so far this winter, and how it compares to winters past in our area.
Both the mean maximum temperature and the mean average temperature so far this winter season put us in first place all-time in Des Moines rankings, but likely cooler temperatures to end the month may push us down the list a bit.