Iowa sees record cold -- chicagotribune.com

DES MOINES, Iowa - A cold spell that brought early winter to the Midwest is one for the records books in Iowa.

The National Weather Service reports record cold high temperatures were set in four cities on Sunday.

Des Moines reached only 41 degrees, breaking the previous record of 46 in 1909. In Mason City, the high was 38 degrees. The old record was 43 in 1977.

Waterloo reached only 40 degrees. The previous record was 43 in 1977. In Ottumwa, the high on Sunday was 40 degrees. The old record was 45 degrees in 1905.

More early-season snow for the Twin Cities today | StarTribune.com

The second round of snow in the Twin Cities within three days is unusual, but not unprecedented for early October. The last time there was measurable snow in the Twin Cities in October was when .6 inches fell on Oct. 20-21, 2002. What is more unusual is having snow in the first half of October, which has happened only eight times in the past 60 years.

1804 [before the invention of SUVs and cell phones, and even before the birth of George W. Bush]: Snow hurricane wipes out crops, livestock, ships at anchor

On this day in 1804, a "snow hurricane" struck Massachusetts. The storm began with winds so powerful that whole forests were leveled. Houses, barns, chimneys, and church steeples came crashing down. Even when the wind subsided, it continued to snow. As much as two feet fell in some places. Fruit was blown off trees and potatoes froze in the ground. Hundreds of cattle, sheep, and poultry died. Ships at anchor collided with each other and nearby wharves, killing the men on board. So many oaks and pines were lost that it was decades before the state's shipbuilding industry recovered. In some parts of Massachusetts, the storm changed the landscape so dramatically that people felt as though they were suddenly living in a new and unfamiliar place.