There are few things in weather that stop you in yo

We don’t name winter storms in the Midwest.

But if we did, this one would already have it.

The Blizzard of 2026.

Not because of hype or headlines — but because of how it performed.

On the afternoon of March 6, a single supercell thunderstorm formed in northern Indiana and tracked northeast into southern Lower Michigan. In just over an hour, the storm produced four tornadoes, including a powerful EF-3 in Union City, Michigan, with estimated winds near 160 mph.

There’s an old saying: you can take the weatherman out of weather, but you can’t take the weather out of the weatherman.

Last week, I was reminded of that.

When I was a kid, I was a creature of habit — especially when it came to weather.

If you lived here in Iowa in 2025, you probably noticed something that felt a little unusual: tornado season didn’t feel much like tornado season.

Every February, the phrase “the day the music died” returns to the American consciousness. It’s a lyric, a memory, a moment frozen in time. But before it became poetry, it was a winter night—raw, dark, and unforgiving—under Midwestern skies that offered no mercy.

January is supposed to be predictable in Osage and across northern Iowa.

Cold mornings. Snow that squeaks under your boots. Rivers locked up. Ground frozen solid. It’s the quietest month of the year, weather-wise — or at least it’s supposed to be.

Last week reminded us that January doesn’t always follow tradition.

If you asked most people to name their least favorite month of the year, January would probably win by a landslide.

The reason isn’t just the cold. It’s the timing.

The holidays are over. The lights come down. The excitement fades. What’s left is a long stretch of gray days, short sunlight, and anticipation for the next thing — whether that’s a warm-weather vacation, the next holiday, or simply the first true mild day that reminds us spring will eventually return.

By Chris Nelson

There is a very specific window each year when most Iowans suddenly become snow experts.

Snow in early November? Too soon.
Snow on Christmas morning? Just right.
Snow in late February? Absolutely not.

If Santa kept a list of favorite places to fly on Christmas Eve — and there’s a good chance he does — Osage would quietly rank near the top.

Not because it’s flashy. Not because it’s big. But because it’s easy, familiar and welcoming in the way only a small town can be when the lights are on, the streets are quiet and everyone knows Christmas is about to arrive.

This year, the weather is helping.

December 15, 2021, will forever stand apart in Iowa’s weather history. What unfolded that evening was not just unusual — it was unprecedented. From record-shattering warmth to a historic tornado outbreak and the nation’s first December derecho, the atmosphere behaved in ways no Iowan had ever witnessed. Even now, four years later, it remains one of the most extraordinary weather events in the modern record.

North Iowa residents may want to keep their boots, shovels and windshield scrapers close at hand this winter. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is calling for a season that leans colder and wetter than average as a weak La Niña continues to influence weather patterns across the Upper Mississippi River Valley.