Tournament season in Iowa: Does it really bring bad weather?

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — We've officially arrived at tournament season here in Iowa. Traditionally, Iowa's Girls and Boys State Basketball Tournaments are held in downtown Des Moines during the last few days of February through the first two weeks of March.

There seems to be a belief among Iowans that tournament season always brings bad cold snaps or big snows to central Iowa just in time for the events. 

Data over the last several years, though, shows otherwise. 

The Local 5 Weather team crunched the numbers and came up with the following data:

MARCH 2019:

Girls State Basketball Tourney Avg. High: 26.7° (Snow Depth ~ 8")

Boys State Basketball Tourney Avg. High: 49.1° (Snow Depth ~ 1.5")

MARCH 2018:

Girls State Basketball Tourney Avg. High: 54.6° (No Snow)

Boys State Basketball Tourney Avg. High: 37.6° (1.3" Snow)

LATE FEB-EARLY MARCH 2017:

Girls State Basketball Tourney Avg. High: 49.6° (No Snow)

Boys State Basketball Tourney Avg. High: 53.2° (0.3" Snow)

LATE FEB-EARLY MARCH 2016:

Girls State Basketball Tourney Avg. High: 43.2° (No Snow)

Boys State Basketball Tourney Avg. High: 66.8° (No Snow)

MARCH 2015:

Girls State Basketball Tourney Avg. High: 35.2° (No Snow)

Boys State Basketball Tourney Avg. High: 68.0° (No Snow)

NOTE: The data highlighted above is based on observations at Des Moines International Airport.

So in reality, the belief that March tournament weeks always bring poor weather to central Iowa is more myth than it is fact. 

According to the National Weather Service in Des Moines, the last time the metro received over 1" of snow during the Girls Tournament was back in March 2014. 

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Of course, there have been some periods of snow and cooler temperatures, but no major winter storms or horrific cold snaps have occurred during these weeks in central Iowa between 2015 and 2020. Some years where the tournament has featured accumulating snow, but it is not always a guarantee.

The forecast for the next two weeks looks promising, too! No winter surprises are predicted at this point. 

Perhaps it's a perception issue? 

Most of us tend to remember the big events that occur, and then we associate that weather pattern with the same time frame every year. Surely there have been at least one or more winter storms during the state tournaments, which is why this belief likely exists!