Winter Storm in Missouri, December 21 to 22, 1998

Name: Winter Storm in Missouri, December 21 to 22, 1998
Start: 1998-12-21T00:00
End: 1998-12-22T18:00
Location: Missouri

December 21 to 22, 1998 · NWS LSX · 31 events in 31 counties and zones

Winter came in with a vengeance, appropriately enough, on the 1st day of winter across Missouri. A strong cold front brought the first blast of Arctic air to the state.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 31 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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 31

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 LSX wrote it up.

Winter came in with a vengeance, appropriately enough, on the 1st day of winter across Missouri. A strong cold front brought the first blast of Arctic air to the state. This was quite a shock for many people as temperatures previously in the month had been quite mild, with highs ranging from the 50s to the 70s. Light freezing drizzle, sleet and snow came in with the cold front. Roads across much of eastern Missouri became covered with a thin coating of ice by the morning rush hour on the 21st. Automobile accidents were responsible for several deaths across the area. A school bus driver was killed in St. Charles County when her bus was hit by a tractor-trailer that skidded out of control on an ice covered road south of Wright City. Fortunately the students on the bus suffered only minor injuries. Temperatures the night/morning of the 21st/22nd dropped into the single digits in most areas and only rose into the teens on the 22nd.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

31 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Audrain

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Audrain forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.216, -91.842 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Boone

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Boone forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.991, -92.310 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Callaway

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Callaway forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.836, -91.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clark

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Clark forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.410, -91.738 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cole

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Cole forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.505, -92.282 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Crawford

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 37.976, -91.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Franklin

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.411, -91.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Gasconade

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Gasconade forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.441, -91.508 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Iron

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Iron forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 37.504, -90.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jefferson

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.261, -90.538 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Knox

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.128, -92.148 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lewis

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Lewis forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.097, -91.722 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lincoln

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.058, -90.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Madison

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 37.478, -90.345 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Marion

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Marion forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.806, -91.622 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Moniteau

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Moniteau forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.633, -92.583 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Monroe

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Monroe forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.496, -92.001 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Montgomery

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.942, -91.470 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Osage

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Osage forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.460, -91.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pike

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Pike forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.344, -91.171 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ralls

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Ralls forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.528, -91.522 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Reynolds

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Reynolds forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 37.362, -90.969 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Scotland

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Scotland forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.453, -92.147 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Shelby

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Shelby forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.798, -92.077 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, St. Charles

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: St. Charles forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.782, -90.675 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, St. Francois

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: St. Francois forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 37.810, -90.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, St. Louis

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: St. Louis forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.641, -90.443 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, St. Louis (C)

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: St. Louis (C) forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.627, -90.198 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ste. Genevieve

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Ste. Genevieve forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 37.894, -90.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Warren

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.765, -91.161 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Washington

When: December 21, 12:00 AM CST to December 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 37.962, -90.877 (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

Every storm in Missouri in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Missouri, December 1998

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: 5673701, 5673702, 5673703, 5673704, 5673705, 5673706, 5673707, 5673708, 5673709, 5673710, 5673711, 5673712, 5673713, 5673714, 5673715, 5673716, 5673717, 5673718, 5673719, 5673720, 5673721, 5673722, 5673723, 5673724, 5673725, 5673726, 5673727, 5673728, 5673729, 5673730, 5673731.