Blizzard Blankets Iowa in White

Well the fierce winds are over and the blinding snow has stopped. But the cold is only beginning after a major blizzard struck the Midwest dropping over a foot of snow and carrying 60mph winds.

This cold is excellent news for ice anglers and late season hunters.

Now that we've got a blanket of white, Arctic air will continue to pour in over our newly acquired white welcome mat. In fact, two major storms in the next week will reinforce the cold air and invite even more down from Canada. This will set the stage for some of the coldest air central Iowa has seen in nearly two years.

As a late season hunter, I am ecstatic! I dream of deep, fresh snow and bitter cold for many reasons. There's just something about the torture test of playing freeze out while waiting for deer to appear over a food source. And the peace of being out there in my own personal snow globe can be consuming. It's also about the smile I get after cutting a big buck's fresh track in the white powder, or setting my sights on a good deer.

Hard water chasers are also adding up the inches of ice, and with overnight lows approaching -10F in northern Iowa this week, I'm expecting happy Christmas anglers. Please remember not to fish on shelf ice. Shelf ice will develop when a lake or river freezes and then the water level drops. These conditions are extremely unsafe and likely to develop shortly after the new year.

Have a merry and safe Christmas!

-Chris