Halloween Ice Storm of 1991

Do you remember the Halloween ice storm of 1991? In 1991, a low-pressure system developed on Halloween morning over southeast Texas and moved rapidly north-northeast, reaching its maximum intensity (984 mb) just east of La Crosse, WI on the afternoon of November 1st. This storm became known as the “Halloween Blizzard” in most of Minnesota and the “Halloween Ice Storm” in Iowa and portions of southeast Minnesota.

Precipitation began falling across Iowa as snow late on October 30th. By the morning of the 31st, the snow had transitioned over to ice. Ice accumulations as high as 2 to 3 inches occurred across south-central and southeast Minnesota.

In Iowa, Interstate 35 was closed down by fallen power lines. 80,000 homes were without power and there was $63 million in utility damage. Ten to fifteen percent of the corn crop was still in the fields and the combination of ice, snow, and wind from this storm flattened some fields. Crop damage was estimated at up to $5 million. This storm is considered the most costly ice storm in Iowa history. It took over a week to restore power in some rural areas. Governor Terry Branstad declared 52 of 99 counties as disaster areas.

To add insult to injury, following the storm, Arctic air poured southward from Canada to produce many record low temperatures in these same areas.