Brutal Winter of 1978-1979

The winter of 1978-1979 will long be remembered for not only heavy snow, but bitterly cold temperatures. A winter season record of 52.9 inches of snow fell over the area and the average temperature during the winter was a record low of 14.1F.

January 1979 was a record breaking month in terms of both snowfall and arctic cold temperatures. From January 12^th to the 14^th, a winter storm dumped an estimated 18.4 inches of snow. This was a record amount for a single snowstorm. A record 26.7 inches fell during the month of January, while the snow depth was a record 28 inches from January 14 through the 19^th.

Besides being a month for record snow, January was also the coldest month ever in the Quad Cities. The average temperature for the month was only 6.3°F. The second coldest reading ever occurred on January 2^nd, when the temperature dropped to 27°F below zero.

Figure 1: Total January 1979 precipitation (inches) at Cedar Rapids Airport

Figure 1: Total January 1979 precipitation (inches) at Dubuque Regional Airport

Figure 3: Total January 1979 precipitation (inches) at Moline Quad City Internaltional Airport

**Table 1**: *Janurary 1979 maximum and minumum temperatures (°F) and snowfall (inches) at the Moline Quad City International Airport*
Day	Maximum Temperature (°F)	Minimum Temperature (°F)	Snow (inches)
1	14	- 10	1.0
2	- 5	- 27	0.0
3	3	- 14	0.0
4	3	- 12	Trace
5	2	- 19	0.2
6	10	- 19	0.0
7	10	- 7	0.0
8	4	- 17	0.0
9	13	- 6	0.0
10	5	- 18	0.0
11	8	- 17	1.3
12	18	7	2.3
13	20	11	14.8
14	11	- 21	Trace

American Meteorological Society Journal article from April 1979 (Widespread Record Cold with Heavy Snowfall in the Midwest, A. James Wagner) (PDF 8 pages)