Illinois, 1997

Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 9 to 10, 1997

December 9 to 10, 1997 · NWS ILX · 17 events in 17 counties and zones

A strong low pressure system moving northeast through Southern Illinois and into Central Indiana spread a band of heavy snow in about a 50 mile wide swath centered along the Illinois River. Most locations reported about 5 inches of snowfall with some locally heavier amounts around 6 inches.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 17 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
17

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 ILX wrote it up.

A strong low pressure system moving northeast through Southern Illinois and into Central Indiana spread a band of heavy snow in about a 50 mile wide swath centered along the Illinois River. Most locations reported about 5 inches of snowfall with some locally heavier amounts around 6 inches. Numerous traffic accidents were reported but no serious injuries resulted. One exception resulted in a death in Peoria County. A tow truck driver was killed after a car skidded off a roadway and into a stranded car, pinning the victim.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Cass

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Cass forecast zone
Coordinates
39.974, -90.247 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, De Witt

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
De Witt forecast zone
Coordinates
40.175, -88.904 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Fulton

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Fulton forecast zone
Coordinates
40.473, -90.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Knox

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Knox forecast zone
Coordinates
40.932, -90.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Logan

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Logan forecast zone
Coordinates
40.125, -89.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Marshall

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Marshall forecast zone
Coordinates
41.033, -89.345 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Mason

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Mason forecast zone
Coordinates
40.240, -89.917 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, McLean

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
McLean forecast zone
Coordinates
40.491, -88.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Menard

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Menard forecast zone
Coordinates
40.027, -89.802 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Morgan

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Morgan forecast zone
Coordinates
39.716, -90.201 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Peoria

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Peoria forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
40.788, -89.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sangamon

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Sangamon forecast zone
Coordinates
39.758, -89.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Schuyler

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Schuyler forecast zone
Coordinates
40.158, -90.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Scott

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Scott forecast zone
Coordinates
39.644, -90.475 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Stark

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Stark forecast zone
Coordinates
41.093, -89.797 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tazewell

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Tazewell forecast zone
Coordinates
40.508, -89.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Woodford

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Woodford forecast zone
Coordinates
40.788, -89.211 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Heavy Snow, Peoria1997-12-1051MaleVehicle/Towed TrailerDirect

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Illinois in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, December 1997

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: 5625019, 5625020, 5625021, 5625022, 5625023, 5625024, 5625025, 5625026, 5625027, 5625028, 5625029, 5625030, 5625031, 5625032, 5625033, 5625034, 5625035.