7.    ICE STORMS

GENERAL SITUATION

Polk County has long, hot summers because moist tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico persistently covers the area. Winters are cool and fairly short with only a rare cold wave that moderates in 1 or 2 days. Precipitation is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year, and prolonged droughts are rare, summer precipitation, mainly afternoon thundershowers, that are at times severe in nature.   

In winter the average temperature is 51 degrees F, and the average daily minimum temperature is 39 degrees. The lowest temperature on record, which occurred at Livingston on February 2,1951, is 4 degrees.  In summer the average temperature is 81 degrees, and the average daily maximum temperature is 78.3 degrees. The highest recorded temperature, which occurred at Livingston on August 6, 1951, is 111 degrees. 

Snowfall is rare. In 70 percent of the winters, there is no measurable snowfall. In 10 percent, the snowfall, usually of short duration, is more than 2 inches. The heaviest 1-day snowfall on record was more than 5 inches. The average relative humidity in midafternoon is about 60 percent. Humidity is higher at night, and the average at dawn is about 90 percent. The sun shines 60 percent of the time possible in summer and 50 percent in winter. The prevailing wind is from the south-southeast. Average windspeed is highest, 9 miles per hour, in spring. 

During winters that are extreme with freezing temperatures combined with snow and ice road conditions become impassable and traffic control becomes a severe problem.  In the winter of 1997 extreme cold and freezing rain caused traffic on all major transportation routes to come to a standstill.  Polk County is ill equipped to deal with extreme icy conditions, however, most winters are temperate and icy conditions only occur approximately once every four years.   

Winter storms can and do occur in Polk County, We have planned and prepared for winter storms, however these storms tend to be low priority.  

This Homepage was prepared by Kenneth F. Hambrick, Polk County Coordinator. Contact at E-Mail address: webmaster@pcoem.org  for additional information about our program. The information contained in this Homepage is considered public domain and the Office of Emergency Management encourages interested persons to utilize any portions of it that might be of educational benefit or enhance their local programs.

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