As January ended and February began, the heaviest snowstorm of the season occurred in a large part of Iowa, and this ushered in a cold start to February. After this cold beginning, there were some mild days heading into the second week of February, but overall, below-normal temperatures were the dominant feature for much of the month.

Into late February, monthly temp­eratures were running well below normal in most of the state, with coldest departures in the east, where some locations were averaging around 10 degrees below normal. This colder February pattern affected most of the eastern...