Missouri, 1997

Ice Storm in Missouri, December 21, 1997

December 21, 1997 · NWS EAX · 21 events in 21 counties and zones

The combination of rain and sub-freezing temperatures resulted in icy roads across much of Northwest and Westcentral Missouri. A man was killed near Phelps City in Atchison County when his vehicle skidded off the icy roadway and landed in a drainage ditch.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 21 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
21

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 EAX wrote it up.

The combination of rain and sub-freezing temperatures resulted in icy roads across much of Northwest and Westcentral Missouri. A man was killed near Phelps City in Atchison County when his vehicle skidded off the icy roadway and landed in a drainage ditch. Numerous other non-injury accidents were reported in St Joseph and throughout the Kansas CIty Metro area.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

21 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Atchison

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Atchison forecast zone
Coordinates
40.431, -95.428 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Holt

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Holt forecast zone
Coordinates
40.094, -95.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Nodaway

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Nodaway forecast zone
Coordinates
40.361, -94.883 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Andrew

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Andrew forecast zone
Coordinates
39.984, -94.802 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Buchanan

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Buchanan forecast zone
Coordinates
39.660, -94.806 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Worth

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Worth forecast zone
Coordinates
40.479, -94.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Gentry

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Gentry forecast zone
Coordinates
40.212, -94.410 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, De Kalb

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
De Kalb forecast zone
Coordinates
39.893, -94.405 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Clinton

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Clinton forecast zone
Coordinates
39.602, -94.405 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Harrison

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Harrison forecast zone
Coordinates
40.355, -93.992 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Daviess

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Daviess forecast zone
Coordinates
39.961, -93.985 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Caldwell

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Caldwell forecast zone
Coordinates
39.656, -93.983 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Ray

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Ray forecast zone
Coordinates
39.352, -93.990 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Lafayette

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Lafayette forecast zone
Coordinates
39.066, -93.785 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Johnson

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Johnson forecast zone
Coordinates
38.744, -93.806 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Henry

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Henry forecast zone
Coordinates
38.385, -93.793 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Bates

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Bates forecast zone
Coordinates
38.257, -94.340 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Cass

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Cass forecast zone
Coordinates
38.647, -94.355 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Jackson

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Coordinates
39.009, -94.346 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Clay

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Coordinates
39.311, -94.421 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Platte

When
December 21, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Platte forecast zone
Coordinates
39.381, -94.774 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Ice Storm
Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Missouri in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, 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: 5586387, 5586388, 5586389, 5586390, 5586391, 5586392, 5586393, 5586394, 5586395, 5586396, 5586397, 5586398, 5586399, 5586400, 5586401, 5586402, 5586403, 5586404, 5586405, 5586406, 5586407.