By Miranda Olson

From the beginning of 2014, southwestern Iowa and other surrounding areas have been dealing with frigid temperatures.  The recent weather has been changing a lot, from temperatures ranging from -20 degrees to 50 degrees, and sunny days to gloomy, with some thunder snow.

Starting on Sun. Jan. 5, an airmass filled with frigid air came down from the Arctic region, bringing the coldest stretch of weather to the mid-section of the United States since 1996.  The weather involved wind gusts of 25-45 mph, in addition to the bitter cold, causing wind child values of -35 to -55 degrees.  Wind chill warnings were issued earlier than 48 hours in advance, and covered all of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.  All schools in the affected area were closed on Monday, and most stayed closed for Tuesday, before reopening on Wednesday.

The morning temperatures of below zero continued to make their presence known on random days throughout January and February, but were not near as dramatic as the temperature values of Jan. 5- Jan. 7.

On Thurs. Feb. 20, Atlantic and other surrounding areas also experienced some thunder snow.  The morning started off with rain, due to the moderate temperatures outside, and as the day progressed, the thunder and snow began.  The snow and rain mix resulted in thick, ice covered snow and slush.  Junior Hannah Just said that the thunder snow was “rad as heck, but the ice on her car was not.”

The midwestern United States’ weather was up in the mid 40’s and 50’s on the week of Feb. 16-Feb. 22, and has fallen back to below freezing, where it will stay for the rest of this week.  Junior Erin Shannon was upset about the dramatic temperature change, saying, “It’s disappointing because I got really excited for spring, but it’s Iowa, so you have to expect the unexpected!”