This Day in Weather History February 19

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

1930: An incredible warming trend took place across Iowa in mid-February. A blast of arctic cold brought temperatures down to as low as -34 F at Webster City on the 15th, then unseasonably warm weather settled in from the 19th-24th with many stations breaking daily high temperature records on several of those days. On the 19th Des Moines and Waterloo both established daily records with readings of 70 F and 64 F, respectively, and temperatures rose into the 70s at most locations across southern Iowa. Other reported high temperatures included 71 F at Thurman, 72 F at Indianola, Keokuk, and Washington, and 73 F at Clarinda, Knoxville, and Lamoni. After the Webster City reading on the 15th this completed an incredible temperature rise of 107 F across Iowa in just four days. To put this into perspective, the largest temperature range ever recorded across the state of Iowa during the entire month of February is 115 degrees.

Source: National Weather Service