Cold in Illinois, January 14, 1997

Name: Cold in Illinois, January 14, 1997
Start: 1997-01-14T06:00
End: 1997-01-14T06:00
Location: Illinois

January 14, 1997 · NWS LOT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Time of death is unknown.

The toll

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

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 LOT wrote it up.

The frozen body of a man was found in a ditch covered with snow.Time of death is unknown.

Event by event

1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Cook

When: January 14, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Cook forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect

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.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Cold/Wind Chill, Cook	1997-01-14	35	Male	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill: Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, January 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: 5586545.