MOLINE, Ill. — Every year on the first of January, the National Weather Service releases an annual report of the weather we experienced in the past year. From record-breaking temps and drought to a December derecho, let’s look back at notable weather events that took place in 2021 in the Quad Cities.
When it comes to temperatures, our hottest day came in at 96 degrees back on Aug. 24. Our coldest day occurred on Feb. 17, when we experienced a low of -15 degrees.
Our average high was 62.9 degrees, which was 1.4 degrees above normal, and our average low was 42.6 degrees, 1.7 degrees above normal.
There were 31 days where temperatures reached the 90s, with the average per year being about 22 days. There were 127 days where temperatures were below freezing. We were 1.7 days under the normal which is 128.7 days.
When it comes to precipitation, 2021 was drier than normal. Overall, we received about 35 inches of rain, which was close to 3.5 inches below our normal amount. There were only eight days where we received more than an inch of rain, 27 days of more than half an inch and 61 days of more than a tenth of an inch of rain. The most amount of rain that we received in 24 hours was 2.88 inches on April 10-11.
Just like the rain we received last year, we received less than our normal amount of snow. In 2020, we experienced 35.7 inches, with our norm being 36.1 inches. There were 11 days we received more than an inch of snow, which aligns with our average number of days. There were 37 days of traceable snow, about 12 days more than usual. The greatest amount of snow that we experienced in a 24-hour period was 6.1 inches on Jan. 25-26.
When it comes to cloud cover, there were 203 fair-weather days, 97 of partly cloudy skies and 65 of cloudy skies. In terms of special weather conditions, we saw 39 days with thunderstorms, 3 with sleet, 142 with fog, 16 of fog causing visibility to be less than a quarter-mile, 69 with haze and none with hail.
Significant Weather Days
- March 23: Just outside our area, Lee County experienced its first tornado.
- June 11: There were isolated severe winds in Des Moines County.
- June 20: There was scattered severe weather with one tornado in southern Dubuque County.
- July 14: There were multiple tornadoes across eastern Iowa.
- Aug. 25: There were damaging winds and a brief land spout tornado in Henry, Iowa.
- Dec. 15: There was a December derecho and unseasonably warm temperatures, breaking two records.
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