Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Illinois, February 23 to 24, 2001

Name: Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Illinois, February 23 to 24, 2001
Start: 2001-02-23T22:30
End: 2001-02-24T09:00
Location: Illinois

February 23 to 24, 2001 · NWS DVN · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: 9

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 DVN wrote it up.

A strong storm system, which developed over the southern plains, moved northeast into the Middle Mississippi Valley by evening. Strong low level warm advection associated with moist southerly flow resulted in widespread freezing rain and sleet, with some snow. All of the area had ice accumulation, with the heaviest occurring north of Highway 30 where amounts ranged from 1/4 to 1 inch. Travel was quite treacherous and numerous accidents were reported.

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 Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 23, 2:57 PM CST, 7 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 23, 2:57 PM CST, 7 hours 33 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
255 PM CST WED FEB 21 2001

.OVERVIEW...VERY TOUGH FORECAST THIS AFTERNOON...STRONG UPPER LOW NOW
MOVING INTO SW UNITED STATES WITH LOTS OF GULF MOISTURE RUNNING OVER
ARCTIC AIR ENTRENCHED OVER MIDWEST.  LEADING EDGE OF FREEZING RAIN (ZR)
WITH SOME SNOW AND SLEET JUST NOW SHOWING UP ALONG A KSUX...KOMA TO KSZL
LINE AT 20Z MOVING NE AT 25-30 MPH.  SIGNIFICANT ZR OCCURRING IN KANSAS
CITY REGION.  SATELLITE AND RADARS SHOWS PRECIP BECOMING MORE INTENSE
AND WIDESPREAD AHEAD OF DEVELOPING WARM CONVEYOR BELT.  SURFACE TEMPS
OVER FORECAST AREA TOPPING OUT IN UPPER TEENS NORTH TO NEAR 30 NEAR
MISSOURI BORDER.  UPPER AIR ANALYSIS SUPPORTS TRIPLE POINT PROGRESSION
OVER CWFA TO ALLOW FOR NORMAL HEAVY PRECIP BAND OVER MUCH AREA NEXT 24
TO 36 HOURS.  SURFACE LOW DEVELOPING IN NORMAL LOCATION...OR SE
COLORADO.

...ASSESSING BL TEMPS AND IMPACTS ON TYPE OF PRECIP TONIGHT AND EARLY
SAT AM WITH WARNING AND ADVISORY DECISIONS...THEN FLOODING POTENTIAL...

DIAGNOSIS AND DAY 1...12Z ETA MISSED 3 KEY UPPER AIR SITES AND AVN
VERIFIES BEST WITH NGM SECOND...QUICK PEAK AT 18Z ETA NOW CONVERGING ON
HEAVY PRECIP AXIS SIMILAR TO AVN.  PROFILERS SHOW 50-70KT LOW LEVEL
FLOW AHEAD OF SYSTEM STRONGER THAN ALL MODELS SO WILL PLAN FOR 18Z ETA
THERMAL PROFILE.  KEY IS HOW MUCH EVAPORATIVE COOLING WE GET ON LEADING
EDGE AND THUS SNOW...SLEET BEFORE CHANGING TO FREEZING RAIN OVER AREA.
GROUND OVER AREA VERY COLD DUE TO 72 HOURS OF BELOW FREEZING TEMPS TO
ENHANCE FREEZING RAIN CHANCES TONIGHT.  WILL USE NOWCAST TOOLS AND BLEND
OF ETA/AVN BL TEMPS ADJUSTED FOR SNOW COVER.  THUS...ISSUE ICE STORM
WARNING FOR AREAS NORTH OF US 30 WITH UP TO 1/2 INCH OR MORE (ESPECIALLY
ALONG US-20) OF ICE BY MID MORNING BEFORE CHANGING TO RAIN. PRECIP
SHOULD START AS MIX OF SNOW...SLEET WITH 1-2 INCHES POSSIBLE BUT IF
TEMPS COLDER BY .5 TO 1 DEGREE...COULD SEE MORE SNOW/SLEET AND LESS ZR.
IN THIS AREA...POTENTIAL FOR MAJOR IMPACTS DUE TO ICE WITH POSSIBLY
THE HEAVIEST ICE ACCUMULATIONS THIS WINTER AND WILL EMPHASIZE THIS IN
STATEMENTS.  SOUTH OF US-30 AND ALONG I-80 CORRIDOR...START AS A MIXTURE
OF ZR...SNOW..SLEET BEFORE CHANGING TO ZR BY LATE EVENING WITH ICE
AMOUNTS OF UP TO 1/4 INCH BY DAYBREAK BEFORE CHANGING TO RAIN AND WILL
KEEP WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.  AGAIN...MINOR TEMP CHANGES WOULD/WILL
HAVE MAJOR IMPACTS. BEST ESTIMATE IS MOST SIGNIFICANT ICE IN ADVISORY
REGION NORTH OF I-80. FAR SOUTH SECTIONS ALONG AND SOUTH OF HIGHWAY
34...APPEARS THEY WILL HAVE AN HOUR OR TWO OF ZR AND SOME SLEET THAT
SHOULD CHANGE TO RAIN...HEAVY AT TIMES. TEMPS WILL TREND TOWARD COLDER
ETA 2M AND FWC VERSUS FAN/MAV EXCEPT SOUTH SECTIONS. SATURDAY PERIOD OF
RAIN...HEAVY AT TIMES WITH A THUNDERSTORM POSSIBLE SOUTHEAST SECTIONS
WITH 1-1.50 INCH 24 ACCUMULATIONS NEAR TO ABOVE FFG SUPPORTS FLOOD WATCH
THROUGH TOMORROW NIGHT ALL AREA...ALSO DENSE SNOW PACK OVER NW 1/2 AREA
MELTING AND ICE COVERED RIVERS FAVORABLE FOR MAX RUNOFF. DENSE FOG ALSO
VERY LIKELY NORTH OF US-30 AS SATURATED AIR TRAVELS OVER SNOWPACK...WOW

DAY 2...SATURDAY NIGHT...PERIODS OF RAIN CONTINUE WITH STRONG TEMP
GRADIENT WITH SNOW COVER A KEY PLAYER INTEGRATED WITH FWC/MAV/ETA 2M
TEMPS.  RAIN SHOULD CHANGE TO LIGHT SNOW AND FLURRIES NW SECTIONS LATE
AND SOME LIGHT SNOW AND FLURRIES SUNDAY WITH FALLING TEMPS AND GUSTY
WINDS.  FOG AGAIN MAY BE A PROBLEM BUT LEAVE OUT FOR NOW.

.EXTENDED (MON-FRI)...
MRF AND AVNEXT LOOK TOO AGGRESSIVE ON PRECIP ON WEDNESDAY SO KEEP CHANCE
SNOW IN LINE WITH UKMET/ECMWF.  TEMPS...MINOR DEVIATIONS FROM MEX DUE
TO LACK OF TIME AND UNCERTAINTIES AND SUGGEST MID FOLKS REVIEW.

COORDINATED WITH LOT...DMX...ARX...THANX.

.DVN...
IA...ICE STORM WARNING NORTH OF US-30 FOR TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING
AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY BETWEEN US-30 AND STATE HIGHWAY 34 FOR
TONIGHT.
IL...ICE STORM WARNING NORTH OF US-30 FOR TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING
AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY BETWEEN US-30 AND STATE HIGHWAY 34 FOR
TONIGHT.
MO...NONE.

NICHOLS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 winter weather, 3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Jo Daviess

When: February 23, 10:30 PM CST to February 24, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Jo Daviess forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.366, -90.212 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Carroll

When: February 23, 10:30 PM CST to February 24, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Carroll forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.069, -89.934 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Stephenson

When: February 23, 10:30 PM CST to February 24, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Stephenson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.352, -89.662 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Whiteside

When: February 23, 10:30 PM CST to February 24, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Whiteside forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.756, -89.914 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Bureau

When: February 23, 10:30 PM CST to February 24, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Bureau forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.404, -89.529 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Henry

When: February 23, 10:30 PM CST to February 24, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Henry forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.353, -90.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Mercer

When: February 23, 10:30 PM CST to February 24, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.205, -90.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Putnam

When: February 23, 10:30 PM CST to February 24, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Putnam forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.205, -89.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Rock Island

When: February 23, 10:30 PM CST to February 24, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Rock Island forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.467, -90.567 (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.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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: 5234066, 5234067, 5234068, 5234069, 5234070, 5234071, 5234072, 5234073, 5234074.