It’s not unusual for temperatures in Iowa to dip below freezing in April, but various crops in the state were damaged in this morning’s cold snap because they blossomed roughly a month earlier than usual this year. National Weather Service meteorologist Aubry Wilkins says the coldest spots in the state at 5 a.m. were in western and northwest Iowa. “Audubon and Carroll bottomed out near 21 degrees and Estherville dropped to 20 or 19 degrees,” Wilkins says. 

In Atlantic, the thermometer bottomed-out at 26-degrees early this morning. Temperatures below 25-degrees can kill fruit and other sensitive crops or vegetation. Another freeze warning is posted for Iowa early Wednesday. Wilkins says Wednesday morning’s temperatures could be even colder than they were this morning. Warmer weather is in the forecast by Thursday. “We will see a bit of a warming trend into the weekend,” Wilkins says. “And then this weekend, we do have the potential for severe storms. It looks like Saturday is the best potential for that.” 

This recent cold snap follows a month in which nine Midwestern states, including Iowa, recorded their warmest March on record.

(Radio Iowa/KJAN)