Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Adams
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Adams forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.988, -91.188 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold in Illinois, December 16 to 17, 2000
A strong cold front moved across the area the afternoon of December 16 bringing in a blast of Arctic air. Temperatures by 900 pm on the 16th had dropped into the single digits with wind chill values down to 30 below zero.
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
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 LSX wrote it up.
A strong cold front moved across the area the afternoon of December 16 bringing in a blast of Arctic air. Temperatures by 900 pm on the 16th had dropped into the single digits with wind chill values down to 30 below zero. The wind chill remained from 20 below to 40 below zero through Noon on the 17th. An elderly man, from Springfield, IL, suffering from the early stages of Alzeimer's Disease, died in the cold. He left his home on the 16th, apparently become disoriented and headed south into Macoupin County. He was found in an open fiield on the 20th.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
17 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Bond
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Bond forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.887, -89.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Brown
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Brown forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.962, -90.750 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Calhoun
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Calhoun forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.169, -90.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Clinton
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Clinton forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.607, -89.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Fayette
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Fayette forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.000, -89.024 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Greene
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Greene forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.356, -90.390 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Jersey
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jersey forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.086, -90.357 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Macoupin
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Macoupin forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.261, -89.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Madison
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Madison forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.830, -89.905 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Marion
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Marion forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.650, -88.919 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Monroe
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Monroe forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.279, -90.177 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Montgomery
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Montgomery forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.231, -89.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Pike
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Pike forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.623, -90.886 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Randolph
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Randolph forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.052, -89.825 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, St. Clair
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- St. Clair forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.470, -89.928 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Washington
- When
- December 16, 8:00 PM CST to December 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Washington forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.352, -89.410 (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.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Macoupin | 2000-12-18 | 79 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
What these are
- Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
- Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado in Alabama, December 16, 2000
- Tornadoes in Alabama, December 16, 2000
- Tornado in Alabama, December 16, 2000
- High Wind in Louisiana, December 16, 2000
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, December 16, 2000
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Georgia, December 16 to 17, 2000
- Tornado in Alabama, December 16, 2000
- Extreme Cold and Lightning Strike in Tennessee, December 16, 2000
- Tornado in Florida, December 16, 2000
- Tornado in Georgia, December 16, 2000
- Tornado in Alabama, December 16, 2000
- Tornado in Alabama, December 16, 2000
More
Every storm in Illinois in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, December 2000
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: 5166105, 5166106, 5166210, 5166211, 5166212, 5166213, 5166214, 5166215, 5166216, 5167117, 5167118, 5167119, 5167120, 5167121, 5167122, 5167123, 5167124.