Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Northwest Iowa not spared from polar vortex's frigid grip
Dueling thermometers at Savings Bank and United Community Bank in Hartley showed a 3-degree split on Monday at around 8 a.m., but whichever one was right didn't really matter – it was darn cold and that's all anyone really needed to know.
Some folks might blame it on the groundhog, but the recent cold snap freezing northwest Iowa and the greater United States has only one culprit.
The polar vortex paid the lower 48 a visit over the past week, plunging temps well below zero throughout the Midwest. Northwest Iowa wasn't spared and daily highs didn't surpass a goose egg during the coldest days.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Sioux Falls, overnight wind chills on Feb. 15 dipped to -40 in Lake Park, -38 in Spencer and -42 in Cherokee. Morning temps that day were as low as -31 in Lake Park, with the warmest local...
