When snow, ice or high water hits Dubuque's hills, call Dubuque Roadside at (563) 239-6326, 24/7; tows start from $115. This page sets out the city's snow-route rules, how plowing works and where the river floods.
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Dubuque is in the Driftless Area, the region the last glaciations missed. That leaves it far hillier than most of the Midwest. In January 2024, Dubuque-area law enforcement warned about the city's steep, hilly roads. They called them more dangerous to drive than flat cities' roads, and very slick and treacherous in snow and slush. One long grade into town is on US-61 from the south. It passes the Dubuque Regional Airport and descends a long hill to the US-151 interchange.
Dubuque's odd/even rule covers 34 miles of its most heavily traveled streets. It takes effect after a snowfall of 3 inches or more, once the city has announced it at least six hours ahead. It is enforced from noon to 5 p.m. or from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. While it is on, you cannot park on the even-numbered side of a snow route on even-numbered days. On odd days, the odd-numbered side is off limits.
A car on the wrong side is ticketed and fined $50. When the city declared odd/even parking for Dec. 2-3, 2025, it added a warning. Cars that broke the rule and presented a hazard would be towed at the owner's expense. For snow-route alerts by text, send DBQsnow to 67283.
Dubuque sends out up to 15 plow and spreader trucks, one for each of its 15 zones. Crews work alternating 12-hour shifts around the clock until the streets are plowed. Motor graders and loaders may join when more than 6 inches fall. The goal is to clear all improved streets within 48 hours after a storm ends. So a side street can wait a day or two for its turn.
Outside the city, Dubuque County's ordinance says its plows and spreaders do not normally run between 3:30 p.m. and 7 a.m. It aims for one open lane rather than dry pavement. Gravel roads may go unplowed while the wind keeps drifting them. Drivers are told to slow to at least 25 mph below the normal limit, and to 10 mph where only one lane is open. Its Area Service B roads get no snow removal at all; the list is on winch-outs in Dubuque.
NOAA's 1991-2020 normals give Dubuque Regional Airport 42.5 inches of snow a year. That snow falls on about 29 days with a tenth of an inch or more. December, January and February each average more than 10 inches.
Iowa DOT's advice covers a car that slides into a ditch or onto the shoulder and cannot get back on the road safely. Stay inside with the seat belt fastened and call 911 on a cell phone. Bring the trunk's emergency kit inside in one trip. When everyone is safe, call (563) 239-6326: a winch-out starts from $122, and we quote a tow on the same call. Before you set out, Iowa 511 has current road conditions at 511ia.org. You can also call 511 in Iowa or 800-288-1047, or use its app.
On the Mississippi at Dubuque (National Weather Service gauge DBQI4), flood stage is 17 feet. At 20 feet, water reaches the base of the floodwall at the Ice Harbor. At 25 feet, it affects Admiral Sheehy Drive at Greyhound Park Road. At 25.5 feet, it reaches the lowest sections of the casino parking lot, and at 26 feet the Miller Riverview Park parking lot. The third-highest crest on record was 24.3 feet on April 29, 2023. The record is 26.81 feet, set April 26, 1965.
Flash floods are a separate risk. The city has spent much of this century curbing flooding in low-lying, downslope areas such as the North End. There, Bee Branch Creek was reopened in 2015-2016. Its work against flash flooding in neighborhoods such as Valley View went on into the 2020s. Never drive into water over a road. If the car stalls in rising water, get out and call 911.
When the City of Dubuque activates warming centers, public places take people in during their open hours. They include Carnegie-Stout Public Library, the Intermodal Transportation Center, ImOn Ice Arena and the Kennedy Mall common areas. None is open overnight, and the latest closes at 9 p.m.
Dubuque's odd/even snow-route parking starts after a snowfall of 3 inches or more, once the city announces it at least six hours ahead. It is enforced from noon to 5 p.m. or 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. If your car is stuck on a snow route, a tow starts from $115.
The city can tow a car from a Dubuque snow route. A car left on the wrong side of an odd/even route is fined $50. The city has said cars that break the rule and also present a hazard are towed at the owner's expense. If your car will not start there, a jump start is from $79.
Dubuque aims to clear all improved streets within 48 hours after a storm ends. Up to 15 plow trucks work 12-hour shifts around the clock, one for each zone. If your car is stuck on a Dubuque street before it is plowed, a winch-out starts from $122.
Dubuque Regional Airport averages 42.5 inches of snow a year, by NOAA's 1991-2020 normals. December, January and February each average more than 10 inches. If that snow leaves your car stuck or in a ditch on a Dubuque hill, call us for a winch-out or a tow.
Calls answered 24/7. Price and timing confirmed before anyone is sent.