What Are Some of Iowa’s Biggest Changes in Temperature in 24 Hours?

Much of Eastern Iowa was blessed with temperatures that reached 70+ on Tuesday, February 27th. One day later, most of eastern Iowa didn't even get above freezing. We went from shorts and being comfortable outside to busting out the winter jacket and gloves in a very short amount of time. We had shut the heat off at my house for 3 days before we had to turn it back on for 1 day.

According to Time And Date, the high in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday was 75 degrees and on Wednesday, the high was only 28 degrees. If my Iowa math is correct, that's a 47-degree difference. This February has been warmer in Iowa and most of the Midwest than we normally can expect. If you don't remember, a warmer winter was predicted back in November, as El Nino is believed to be a major factor in the warmer temperatures.

With the drastic change of 47 degrees from Tuesday's high to Wednesday's high, have you ever wondered what Iowa's biggest temperature swings are?

Iowa Weather Facts

According to a 2014 article from the Clinton Herald, One of the largest temperature differences in Iowa's history occurred in May of 2013. On May 13th, 2013, Clinton saw a record low of 33 degrees which was followed up with a record high of 93 degrees on May 14th. This was the largest day-to-day temperature increase in 121 years.

If we look in the Waterloo area, according to an article from KWWL, there was a 75-degree difference between the low and high temperatures on October 23rd, 2008. Waterloo saw a low of 42 and a high of 117 degrees. YIKES! That day is also tied with the previous day October 22nd, 2013. Waterloo saw a low of 43 degrees with a high of 118!

According to CBS2Iowa, on December 23rd of 2020, Cedar Rapids went from 55 degrees to 4 degrees on December 24th. This 51-degree difference was noted as one of Cedar Rapids' largest temperature decreases of all time.

In 1996, many Eastern Iowa natives might remember on January 4, there was 60-degree change in temperature.

While eastern Iowa saw a swing in temperatures close to 47 degrees, there have been even more extreme cases throughout Iowa's history.

Hopefully, most of the snow we see in Iowa is behind us. Now that you've seen extreme temperature changes, what about extreme Iowa snowfall records? Check out some of the biggest recorded snowfall records!