Sheldon, Iowa — May first isn’t just May Day, it’s also the first day of the year that KIWA no longer records measurable snowfall, as measurable snowfall, although not impossible, becomes a statistical rarity after April 30th in Sheldon.
KIWA begins to look to measure snow starting October first of every year. After having what has seemed like a few years of less snow, Sheldon had more snow than normal for the 2022-2023 winter season.
According to the weather facts gathered daily at KIWA studios, downtown Sheldon saw a total measurable season snowfall of 47.51 inches, a full 10.71 inches above the normal season snowfall of 36.8 inches. The first measurable snow came in the middle of November, on the 15th of the month, greeting Sheldon with a quarter of an inch of snow.
The most snowfall in a single day in the 2022-2023 winter season came on January 19th, when five and a half inches fell. This snow event helped make January the month with the most snowfall of the season coming in at just over 15¼ inches.
The season had blinding blizzards as well, including one just before Christmas on the 23rd of December, when Sheldon saw only 2 inches of fresh snow fall, followed up with winds at 44-miles-per-hour. The chilly temperature of 18 degrees below zero, combined with the high winds resulted in wind chills of 55 degrees below zero. The extreme cold, high winds, fresh snow, and zero visibility resulted in road closures throughout the broadcast area. Snowplows were taken off the road, and the Iowa State Patrol issued a statement that law enforcement may not be able to make it to stranded motorists.
The 2022-2023 winter season temperatures was also one for records. In October, the 18th and 19th broke record low temperatures, dipping into the single digits above zero. This was not the coldest day of the season. That title goes to the 23rd of December during the blizzard, when the air temperature dropped to a bone-chilling 18 degrees below zero. December 2022 also was the month with the most days below zero, coming in at nine days where the mercury dropped below zero. There was one day of the season that broke record high temperatures, that day was April 13th, when the temperature rose to 90 degrees, squeaking past the 115-year-old record on that day of 89 degrees.
The previous year — in the 2021-2022 winter season — Sheldon was 20¼ inches below normal for snowfall.
