2 weeks Ago
Blizzard like conditions snarled swathes of Northwest Iowa throughout Wednesday with gusts hitting as high as 55 miles per hour in the Sioux City metro and more than 5 inches of snow falling in the Woodbury County seat. Here's the latest from The Journal about the Siouxland blizzard: MidAmerican Energy said in a release at 5:45 p.m.
that the estimated time of restoration has shifted. " We are continuing to make steady progress in restoring customers and expect most to be back on by noon on Friday, March 21," MidAmerican Energy said. "There are some areas, however, that have sustained heavy and extensive system damage that will require more time to repair as the system has to be rebuilt.
" The Sioux City area had over 7,000 outages as of 6:34 p.m. while the Fort Dodge area had over 4,100 outages.
Sioux City's snow emergency will be lifted at 7 a.m. Thursday.
Vehicles may begin parking on both sides of the street, unless otherwise posted, beginning at that time. "We appreciate the cooperation from residents who moved their vehicles to assist city crews as they cleared the streets," the city said in a statement. — Dolly A.
Butz In an afternoon news release, MidAmerican Energy said: "Restoration to most customers can be expected by end of day on Thursday. Our teams will continue to work around the clock until all customers are restored." The greater Sioux City area had 6,651 outages while the area around Fort Dodge had 6,557, through 4:23 p.
m., Wednesday. — Jared McNett Woodbury County Emergency Management urged residents to check outdoor vents for their homes to "prevent dangerous blockages that could lead to carbon monoxide buildup or heating system malfunctions.
" Emergency Management recommended homeowners regularly check and clear snow from furnace, dryer and water heater vents, ensure vents are free from ice buildup and other obstructions, install carbon monoxide detectors and check batteries regularly and call emergency services and evacuate your home immediately if you begin to experience carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms such as headaches, dizziness or nausea. — Jared McNett Sioux City Utilities Director Brad Puetz told The Journal that snowmelt is not expected to inundate the municipal storm system. "This is very different from a very hard and fast 1-2" rain where it all runs to the storm system at a very rapid pace," he said via email.
— Dolly A. Butz Thundersnow, a somewhat unusual sort of thunderstorm that occurs during a snowstorm, was reported in multiple Northwest Iowa counties Wednesday morning. Kyle Weisser, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, said thundersnow was reported in parts of Woodbury, Ida and Buena Vista counties; lightning was detected on National Weather Service equipment.
"It's just a system that has instability, like a day we would have with some scattered showers and storms, it just happens to be associated with a band of snow in this case," Weisser said of thundersnow. A total of 5 inches of snow was recorded in Sioux City as of about noon Wednesday, Weisser said. The snowstorm moved to the east and weakened at around that time.
Wednesday's snowfall fell somewhat short of the March 19 snowfall record of 5.4 inches, set in 1970. As of this writing snowfall total reports were not available for areas further outside Sioux City, but the snow was believed to be heaviest in Woodbury, Ida, Cherokee and Buena Vista counties, and somewhat lighter elsewhere.
— Mason Dockter The Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City Public Library and Sioux City Museum are closed Wednesday. — Dolly A. Butz The MidAmerican Energy outage map showed 7,961 outages for the Sioux City area, 1191 outages for the Storm Lake area and 5,397 outages for the Fort Dodge area.
Four locations in the Sioux City area had 500 or more outages: Sioux City (749), Odebolt (643), Sloan (578) and Ida Grove (569). Rural Woodbury County had 617 outages. Schaller and Whiting had over 400 outages, 418 and 405 respectively.
Monona County had 185 outages recorded and the Monona County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook that the issue could be a multi-day event. In the Storm Lake area, Sac City had 1,055 outages. Family Healthcare of Siouxland's South Sioux City Clinic, Dunes Clinic, Imaging Center and corporate office are closed Wednesday.
— Dolly A. Butz A tow truck operator works to free a UPS truck stuck on the westbound US Highway 20 onramp from Interstate 29 Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Sioux City. Wet, heavy snow, whipped by high winds began falling in the city early Wednesday and is expected to end that afternoon with accumulations of about five-inches.
Tim Hynds, Sioux City Journal Ida, Monona and Sac counties have announced they are pulling county snowplows off the roads because of deteriorating visibility. Snowplows will return to the roads when visibility improves. — Nick Hytrek UnityPoint Health had to close a number of its Sioux City metro locations Wednesday.
Because of the blizzard, the following locations and services were closed: UnityPoint at Home - Home Medical Equipment, UnityPoint Clinic - Foot and Ankle Surgery - Sunnybrook, UnityPoint Clinic Family Medicine - Dakota Dunes, UnityPoint Clinic Family Medicine Marketplace, UnityPoint Clinic Family Medicine - Sunnybrook, UnityPoint Clinic General Surgery and Gastroenterology, UnityPoint Clinic Pediatric Infectious Disease - Sunnybrook, UnityPoint Clinic Pediatrics - Sunnybrook, UnityPoint Clinic Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, UnityPoint Clinic Urgent Care - Marketplace, UnityPoint Clinic Urgent Care - Sunnybrook, UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's Cardiology Services and Cardiovascular Associates - Sunnybrook, UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's Drug and Alcohol Testing, UnityPoint Health - St.
Luke's Pulmonology & Critical Care, UnityPoint Health PACE Senior Care - Siouxland. — Jared McNett Shortly after 11 a.m.
, Sioux City Community Policing Sgt. Tom Gill said the department's officers were "tied up" with vehicles in ditches and crashes. Exactly at 11:05 a.
m., he counted reports of seven vehicles in ditches. "A lot of those times, they're not called in unless somebody needs help or something.
But right now, we've got seven of them holding," he said. Between 6 and 11 a.m.
, officers responded to six crashes in the metro. None of the crashes involved injuries, according to Gill. "If you don't have to be out, stay home, because these vehicles in the ditch and these accidents -- just all of our officers are tied up right now.
So it's going to be a while before they get to them," he said. — Dolly A. Butz The Iowa Department of Transportation has closed northbound and southbound Interstate 29 from Sergeant Bluff to Missouri Valley because of low visibility, stranded vehicles and downed power lines across the interstate.
Southbound I-29 travelers should seek shelter in Sioux City. Parking is available at the Seaboard Triumph Foods Expo Center, 550 Expo Center Drive; Sam's Club, 4201 S. York St.
; Long Lines Family Center, 401 Gordon Drive. Travelers who have sought shelter in rest area facilities will be allowed to remain there unless directed by IDOT or law enforcement to relocate to another designated safe location. — Nick Hytrek The Sioux City Transit System is holding buses at the MLK Jr.
Ground Transportation Center from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.
m. due to the weather. The city said in a statement that the public can stay up to date on transit service through CodeRed emergency notifications and the PassioGo app.
Sign up for CodeRED notifications (text, email, phone) at sioux-city.org/alerts . — Dolly A.
Butz A pair of Sergeant Bluff Police cruisers divert traffic off of Interstate 29 after the road was closed Wednesday, March 19, 2025, between Sergeant Bluff and Missouri Valley due to near whiteout conditions and numerous accidents. Wet, heavy snow, whipped by high winds began falling in the city early Wednesday and is expected to end that afternoon with accumulations of about five-inches. Tim Hynds, Sioux City Journal Iowa Department of Transportation shared that there is a road blocked due to the winter storm from Exit 72 (County Road G14 near Missouri Valley) to Exit 143 (Singing Hills Boulevard, Sioux City).
— Jared McNett Iowa Department of Transportation alerted drivers that IA 10 eastbound/westbound had a road blocked due to a crash from County Road N28 to County Road C26 (Laurens). — Jared McNett Iowa Department of Transportation reported that U.S.
20 Eastbound had a road blocked due to a stalled vehicle at Exit 4 (Gordon Drive, near Sioux City). — Jared McNett The power outage numbers for MidAmerican Energy's map have grown. More than 5,100 in the Sioux City area and more than 2,300 in the Storm Lake area are without power.
Cherokee had the highest number of outages with 1856, followed by Ida Grove with 756 and then rural Woodbury County with 606, Sloan (578), Whiting (405), rural Cherokee County (304), Dow City (301), Ute (258), Sioux City (250), Moville (244), Dunlap (223), Salix (201), rural Monona County (176), Blencoe (160), Soldier (156), Hornick (146), Bronson (144), Cushing (126) and Meriden (109). — Jared McNett The Sioux City Police Department is urging drivers who have to be on the roads Wednesday to "please be careful." "Slow down, give yourself extra time to get to your destination and increase the distance (between) yourself and other vehicles so you have more time to react," the social media post read.
Anyone involved in an accident is being asked to move their vehicles off the road, if they can, to avoid causing another accident. "If no one is injured we encourage you to just exchange information with the other driver in lieu of calling to make a report. Please be safe everyone!" the post read.
— Dolly A. Butz The City of Storm Lake is declaring a snow emergency effective at 10 p.m.
Wednesday and running through 6 a.m. Saturday.
The following regulations are in effect during the snow emergency: • Parking is not allowed on streets in residential areas of Storm Lake between 10 p.m. and 6 a.
m. • Parking is not allowed on streets in the Central Business District between the 2 and 6 a.m.
• Parking is not allowed in downtown public parking lots designated as Lot B and Lot D. Overnight parking in downtown public parking lots designated as Lot A and Lot C is allowed during a snow emergency. Vehicles found to be in violation of the city's snow policy may be ticketed and/or towed.
— Dolly A. Butz The Clay County Sheriff's Office says visibility is near zero and advises against traveling. The Clay County Courthouse in Spencer also has been closed.
Storm Lake Police Chief Chris Cole said in a video posted on the department's Facebook page that many streets in Storm Lake are impassable and rural roads are drifting shut as fast as county snowplows can open them. He also advises everyone to stay home if they can. -- Nick Hytrek The National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls alerted drivers that road conditions are only getting worse across a large part of Northwest Iowa with travel not advised along Highway 3 from Akron to Le Mars to Cherokee to Storm Lake down to Highway 20 from Ida Grove to Moville.
— Jared McNett The Iowa Department of Transportation reported that I-29 southbound had a road blocked due to a crash at exit 141, First Street and Sioux Gateway Airport. An additional blockage was reported for the right lane of I-29 northbound due to a crash from IA-175 to Exit 120 (County Road E24, one mile north of Onawa). — Jared McNett More than 3,600 Mid American Energy customers are without power.
The highest total comes from Ida Grove, Iowa were 717 do not have power. There are 578 customers without power in Sloan, Iowa; 409 in more rural Woodbury County; 405 in Whiting, Iowa; 244 in Moville, Iowa; 201 in Salix, Iowa; and 161 in Sioux City. — Jared McNett Just before 7:30 a.
m., Wednesday, the Woodbury County Emergency Management sent out a message telling motorists to: "stay off the roads if possible." The message then continued: "If you must travel, make sure you have an emergency kit.
" — Jared McNett.
