Winter Storm, Jo Daviess
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jo Daviess forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.366, -90.212 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Illinois, January 18, 1996
A powerful cold front steamed through the region around sunrise dropping temperatures 20 degrees in less than half an hour. Temperatures fell from the mid 50s into the teens within a few hours and the single digits below zero that night.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 13 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 13
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS DVN wrote it up.
A powerful cold front steamed through the region around sunrise dropping temperatures 20 degrees in less than half an hour. Temperatures fell from the mid 50s into the teens within a few hours and the single digits below zero that night. 1 to 3 inches of freezing rain, sleet, and snow fell and caused icy roads and disruption of electrical power. Most Schools canceled classes or dismissed early. Many others had trouble getting home with icy roads and difficulty just getting into there cars due to doors and door locks being iced over. Glaze was so thick that Muscatine Postmaster Dyann Roby said "most of the 35 collection boxes were frozen shut"; however other mail services continued.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Stephenson
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Stephenson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.352, -89.662 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Carroll
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Carroll forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.069, -89.934 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Whiteside
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Whiteside forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.756, -89.914 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Rock Island
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Rock Island forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.467, -90.567 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Henry
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Henry forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.353, -90.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Bureau
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Bureau forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.404, -89.529 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Putnam
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Putnam forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.205, -89.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Mercer
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Mercer forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.205, -90.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Henderson
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Henderson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.818, -90.925 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Warren
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Warren forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.849, -90.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Hancock
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Hancock forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.404, -91.165 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, McDonough
- When
- January 18, 4:30 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- McDonough forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.456, -90.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Oklahoma, January 18 to 20, 1996
- Blizzard in Iowa, January 18, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Washington, January 18 to 19, 1996
- Cold in Wisconsin, January 18, 1996
- High Wind in Indiana, January 18, 1996
- Flash Flood in Virginia, January 18 to 19, 1996
- Tornado in Missouri, January 18, 1996
- Flash Flood in Virginia, January 18 to 19, 1996
- Flash Flood in New York, January 18, 1996
- High Wind in Alabama, January 18 to 19, 1996
- Tornado in Kentucky, January 18, 1996
- Tornado in Arkansas, January 18, 1996
More
Every storm in Illinois in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, January 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5542535, 5542536, 5542537, 5542538, 5542539, 5542540, 5542541, 5542542, 5542543, 5542544, 5542545, 5542546, 5542547.