50 years ago, spring blizzard hits Iowa

     April 8-10 marked the 50^th anniversary of an historic winter blizzard that hit the State of Iowa.

   This blizzard was captured by the Monticello Express in the April 12, 1973 issue with a full-page photo spread and much detail about the storm’s impact to Monticello and Jones County.

   Beginning Sunday evening, April 8, the seasonal spring weather started to turn… The Friday before, temperatures were reported near 70 degrees.

   That Sunday, light snow began to fall early in the day. It then changed to rain and a mixture.

   It wasn’t just the precipitation, but the 50 mph high winds that caused blizzard-like conditions.

   A long-time Monticello resident remarked this storm “rivaled one that occurred in April 1921.” Others said they could not recall such a storm in the spring. Another commented “that is was the worst storm since the bad winter of 1936.”

   Residents had gotten used to the mild January and February, so this late April snowstorm was a bit of a surprise.

   “Mother Nature hit below the belt when she dumped an early spring blizzard of winter-like proportions on the Express area Monday,” read the article.

   Fifteen inches of snow covered the ground, but it was the snowdrifts that caused much of the issues for the rural areas of the county.

   “Monticello and Jones County were virtually paralyzed as traffic came to a halt.”

   Schools were closed for three days. Businesses and the courthouse were also closed for two full days.

   Monticello street crews started their plowing efforts at 8 p.m. on Sunday. They worked until 2:30 a.m. on Monday, taking a few hours off to rest. They were back at it again throughout most of the day on Monday, through the night into Tuesday.

   “Some of the street crew men worked 16 hours straight,” noted the Express.

   The city also tried to prevent basements from flooding due to the heavy, wet snow, and the warm up that soon followed the storm.

   The city ended up hiring private companies to help with the plowing efforts.

   There were two major issues associated with the clearing of streets: One, the heavy snow impacted the snowplows’ ability to move to drifts. Two, there were many stalled vehicles on the city streets.

   All vehicles that were illegally parked, interfering with plowing, were ticketed.

   The Monticello Police Department relied on volunteers via snowmobile to assist with stranded drivers and emergency situations. These volunteers transported staff to John McDonald Hospital and the nursing home. They helped farmers to check on their livestock in the pastures. They helped stranded motorists on the highway.

   “Periodic runs were made on the highways to check for anyone needing help,” read the Express article.

   In one case, two Monticello Police Officers and two snowmobilers helped assist a woman in Amber in getting her to the hospital.

   The woman and her husband tried to venture out behind a snowplow toward Monticello when the plow hit a large drift. The couple’s car jammed underneath the plow and they could not get out.

   Police Chief John Cook and Officer Tom Gerdes, along with volunteers Ron Behrends and Bill Buckner reached the couple to get them safely to the hospital.

   Blocked roads prevented a rural Bernard couple from getting to John McDonald Hospital to deliver their baby.

   On Tuesday afternoon, April 10, Mrs. Richard Knapp ended up giving birth at home to a baby boy.

   “High winds caused considerable blocking of county roads.”

   Due to the seasonable temperatures prior to the snowstorm, many farmers and rural residents removed their snow fences.

   “County Engineer Earl Beisell said that the fences probably wouldn’t have helped too much because the wind was from the east instead of the west.”

   The hope was that county roads would be open and cleared by Wednesday evening, April 11, three days following the start of the storm.

   Utility companies also battled the storm. Iowa Electric reported several outages, notably in the rural areas. Again, snowmobilers helped to transport linemen and crews to work throughout the night restoring power.

   “The main problem came from excessive use of phones,” noted the article. “There weren’t enough dial tones to handle all of the calls at times.”

   (Here’s to hoping Mother Nature spares Iowa 50 years later as we begin to enjoy the start of spring…)