Winter Storm in Illinois, February 21 to 22, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Illinois, February 21 to 22, 2001
Start: 2001-02-21T20:00
End: 2001-02-22T03:00
Location: Illinois

February 21 to 22, 2001 · NWS PAH · 12 events in 12 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 12 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: 12

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 PAH wrote it up.

Several hours of moderate to heavy sleet and freezing rain occurred, sometimes accompanied by thunder and lightning. The precipitation was mainly in the form of sleet in most areas, with up to an inch of sleet accumulation. In the southernmost tip of Illinois, from Cairo to Metropolis, freezing rain was more prevalent. Freezing rain glazed some surfaces, mainly trees and power lines, with up to one quarter inch of ice. On the day following the storm, numerous schools were closed. The liquid equivalent of the precipitation ranged from one quarter inch at Carbondale to just under an inch over the southern tip of Illinois near Cairo.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 21, 2:28 PM CST, 5 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 21, 2:28 PM CST, 5 hours 32 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
228 PM CST WED FEB 21 2001

MODELS COMING ONTO SAME PAGE ON S/W TONIGHT. NGM QPF IS LOWEST...ETA
/AVN HIGHER. WILL BLEND TOWARD NGM. EVENT IS FAST MOVER AND SHOULD
BE OVER BEFORE SUNRISE MOST ZONES. NCEP KEEN ON IDEA OF ICE EVENT
PER QPFHSD.

PRECIP TYPE WILL BE TRICKY. FIRST NORTHERN AREAS. ELEVATED WARM
LAYER GENERALLY SOUTH OF A PERRYVILLE MO TO MADISONVILE KY LINE AT
06Z. NORTH OF LINE...FORECAST SOUNDINGS REMAIN BELOW 0C AND FAVOR
SNOW. HOWEVER...H7 THRU H5 TEMPS ARE WARMER THAN IDEAL FOR MAXIMUM
GROWTH OF ICE NUCLEI. THIS WOULD SUGGEST A SLEET MIXTURE...WHICH IS
WHAT BUFKIT SHOWS. PLAN IS TO ISSUE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW
MIXING WITH SLEET. WILL MENTION 1 TO 2 INCHES ACCUMULATION...BUT
MIXTURE JUSTIFIES ADVISORY.

NOW SOUTH OF THE PERRYVILLE TO MADISONVILLE LINE. FORECAST SOUNDINGS
INDICATE A 3-5K WARM LAYER ABOVE 925MB WITH AVG TEMP 2-4C. THIS SAYS
FREEZING RAIN. MODEL SFC TEMPS VERY CLOSE TO FREEZING MARK MOST OF
THE NIGHT. NGM FORECAST SOUNDINGS VERIFYING THE BEST AT 18Z SINCE IT
PICKED UP THE COOLER DEWPOINTS. WET BULBING THIS DRY AIR ALLOWS TEMPS
TO COOL TO AOB 32F AS PRECIP STARTS. HOWEVER...WARM AFTERNOON TEMPS
WILL MAKE IT HARD FOR SOUTHERNMOST COUNTIES TO EXPERIENCE AN ICE
EVENT. ANOTHER PROBLEM IS CONVECTION. KSGF ALREADY SEEING LTG. E-W
SHOWALTER GRADIENT ALIGNED WITH H85 FRONT WITH GOOD MOISTURE
ADVECTION ACROSS AREA. CONVECTION WOULD LOCALLY ENHANCE RAINFALL AND
ICING...BUT COULD MIX DOWN WARMER AIR IN SOUTHERNMOST AREAS. CURRENT
PLAN IS TO ISSUE FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY SOUTH OF THE ABOVEMENTIONED
LINE BUT NOT INCLUDING SOUTHERNMOST COUNTIES OF WRN KY...MENTIONING
RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN BUT NOT ADVISORY CRITERIA. ADVISORIES FOR THE
OVERNIGHT HOURS ONLY.

ON THURSDAY...NO POPS. CLEARING ALL AREAS BY AFTERNOON. WILL
UNDERCUT GUIDANCE BY A CAT NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ZONES.

CLOUDINESS SHOULD ALREADY BE APPROACHING THURSDAY NIGHT AHEAD OF
PACIFIC SYSTEM...BUT WITH H5 RIDGE LINE STILL WEST OF FA WILL GO
PARTLY CLOUDY. WILL KEEP PRECIP OUT OF FORECAST FRIDAY...INSTEAD
USING INCREASING CLOUDINESS EAST AND MOSTLY CLOUDY WEST.  WARM FRONT
APPROACHES FRIDAY NIGHT AND WILL INTRODUCE POPS ALL ZONES. COULD
BE ELEVATED THUNDER WITH FRONT...BUT MORE LIKELY SATURDAY.

FOR EXTENDED...WILL REMOVE PRECIP MENTION SUNDAY ALTHOUGH FLURRIES
POSSIBLE FAR NORTH. DRY MONDAY. MRF BRINGS MINOR DISTURBANCE THRU
TUESDAY BUT WILL CONTINUE WITH VARIABLE CLOUDINESS WORDING.
WEDNESDAY LOOKS DRY AND SLIGHTLY COOLER.

THANKS FOR COORD SDF/IND/ILX/MEM/BNA.

.PAH...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT NORTH OF A PERRYVILLE MISSOURI
TO MADISONVILLE KY LINE. FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY TONIGHT SOUTH OF THE
ABOVEMENTIONED LINE EXCEPT FOR SOUTHERNMOST COUNTIES OF WESTERN
KENTUCKY.

SDB

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

12 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Saline

When: February 21, 8:00 PM CST to February 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Saline forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.753, -88.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Union

When: February 21, 8:00 PM CST to February 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Union forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.471, -89.255 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, White

When: February 21, 8:00 PM CST to February 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: White forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.088, -88.180 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Williamson

When: February 21, 8:00 PM CST to February 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Williamson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.730, -88.930 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Alexander

When: February 21, 8:00 PM CST to February 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Alexander forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.192, -89.338 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Gallatin

When: February 21, 8:00 PM CST to February 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Gallatin forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.763, -88.230 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hardin

When: February 21, 8:00 PM CST to February 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Hardin forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.518, -88.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jackson

When: February 21, 8:00 PM CST to February 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.785, -89.382 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Johnson

When: February 21, 8:00 PM CST to February 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.460, -88.881 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Massac

When: February 21, 8:00 PM CST to February 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Massac forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.219, -88.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pope

When: February 21, 8:00 PM CST to February 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Pope forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.413, -88.562 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pulaski

When: February 21, 8:00 PM CST to February 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Pulaski forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.223, -89.127 (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 Illinois in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, February 2001

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: 5231832, 5231833, 5231834, 5231835, 5233582, 5233583, 5233584, 5233585, 5233586, 5233587, 5233588, 5233589.