Iowans were faced with a day of wild weather Wednesday, Nov. 15.
The day started with record high temperatures – in Cedar Rapids, according to the National Weather Service, temperatures hit a record 73-degree high for the day, with a minimum temperature of 50 degrees. The average temperature for the day was 62 degrees.
The previous record temperature was 62 degrees Fahrenheit in 1939. Normal temperatures for this time of year are 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
The day also saw significant wind gusts, with wind speeds of 37 miles per hour on average for the day and gusts upwards of 50 miles per hour.
The warm weather contributed to a rocky evening of weather, as wind gusts picked up speed as late evening thunderstorms moved through Iowa.
Heavy rain, fog and haze were seen as temperatures dropped significantly.
Alliant Energy customers lost power at roughly 8:55 p.m. in the communities of Mount Vernon and Lisbon. Those customers were among the more than 100,000 customers who lost power during this particular winter storm across the state.
Power to many in the area was restored at roughly 12:25 a.m.
While the storm generated minimal damage to the Mount Vernon and Lisbon area, other areas of the state saw significantly more damage from the storm, including reports of tornadoes on ground in parts of Kossuth County.
By Thursday morning, roughly 27,031 customers from Alliant Energy were without power from the storm, and another 11,789 were without power from MidAmerican Energy, with crews working to restore power to those impacted.
Temperatures Thursday, Dec. 16, were back in line with what temperatures are expected to be for this time of year.
Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for 43 counties in response to Iowa’s Dec. 15 severe weather.
The governor’s proclamation allows state resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of this severe weather and activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program for qualifying residents, along with the Disaster Case Management Program, for the following counties: Allamakee, Appanoose, Audubon, Bremer, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Cass, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Davis, Fayette, Floyd, Greene, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Howard, Ida, Kossuth, Lucas, Madison, Marshall, Mills, Mitchell, Monroe, Montgomery, O’Brien, Page, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Sac, Shelby, Union, Washington, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Wright, and Worth.