Flooding in Illinois, February 25 to 28, 2001

Name: Flooding in Illinois, February 25 to 28, 2001
Start: 2001-02-25T22:45
End: 2001-02-28T00:00
Location: Illinois

February 25 to 28, 2001 · NWS DVN · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

, rain) event as well as river and stream ice action. While some crests were similar to or less than those experienced earlier in the month, other areas experienced significantly higher water levels.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 3

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.

River and streams then rose again abruptly February 25 in response to another significant precipitation (i.e., rain) event as well as river and stream ice action. While some crests were similar to or less than those experienced earlier in the month, other areas experienced significantly higher water levels. The main (and most popular) event was flooding on the Rock River upstream from Moline IL, which experienced its most significant ice jam-related flooding since 1997. From February 25 through early March, ice jams formed, broke, and re-formed on the Rock River, helping force occasional rapid local water level rises. The Rock River near Joslin gage recorded a peak crest of 18.02 ft, the 5th highest crest on record there. Water level reports from area residents and law enforcement included several "it's the highest I've ever seen" type comments. These occurrences were certainly possible since the ice forced local rises which could have been a few feet higher than any rises recorded by official gaging stations. Due to the Rock River's sometimes rapid local rises during this event, some of the damage was more extensive than normal since some people did not have the preparation time they would usually have with warm-season river flooding. The Rock River ice jams and related flooding from late February into early March drew both local and national media attention.

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 25, 2:35 PM CST, 8 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 25, 2:35 PM CST, 8 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
235 PM CST SUN FEB 25 2001

.OVERVIEW...INTENSE WINTER STORM SYSTEM EXITING EAST ALLOWING FOR
SLACKENING OF PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS AREA.  SURFACE WINDS OVER AREA
STILL MEETING WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA NE 2/3 WITH 30 TO 45 MPH WINDS.
TIME RATE OF MOVEMENT SUGGESTS WINDS TO BE UNDER ADVISORY CRITERIA BY
ZONE ISSUANCE WITH MUCH LIGHTER WINDS BY EARLY EVENING.  IF NOT...WILL
CARVE OUT SECTION THAT IS AND KEEP ADVISORY TIL 6 PM.  SATELLITE AND
UPPER AIR SUGGEST AMD MOSTLY CLEAR TO PARTLY CLOUDY NIGHT WITH NEXT WEAK
SHORTWAVE TO ARRIVE FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA DURING DAY ON MONDAY ALONG
WITH REINFORCEMENT OF ARCTIC AIR.

...TIMING OF DECREASING WINDS TONIGHT AND CHANCE OF POPS AND CLOUDS
TOMORROW THROUGH FORECAST ISSUES THIS CYCLE...

DIAGNOSIS AND DAY 1...MODELS SIMILAR THROUGH 24 HOURS AND VERIFY
WELL WITH CYCLONIC WIND MACHINE.  AFTER WINDS DECREASE NEXT 3-6
HOURS AND CLEAR...NEAR TERM MAIN ISSUES CENTER ON THE TIMING AND AMOUNT
OF CLOUDS AND LIGHT SNOW MONDAY WITH NEXT UPSTREAM SYSTEM. DEPTH OF COLD
AIR...WEAK FORCING AND MARGINAL MOISTURE SUPPORT KEEPING LOW CHANCE POPS
WITH FLURRIES MAINLY. TEMPS NEAR GUIDANCE TONIGHT AS WEAK SFC HIGH
OVERHEAD BUT SOME HIGH CLOUDS TEMPER/OFFSET LOWS A CATEGORY.  SKIES
BECOME MOSTLY CLOUDY BY MID DAY FROM NW TO SE WITH HIGHS NEAR GUIDANCE
AND STRONG GRADIENT DUE TO TIMING OF NEXT BOUNDARY ARRIVING. SOUTH
SECTIONS...WILL KEEP RISK OF CLOUDS AND LIGHT SNOW INTO NIGHT WITH
PARTLY CLOUDY NORTH. DEPTH OF COLD AIR SUGGEST LITTLE CONCERN ALONG AND
NORTH OF US-30.

DAY 2...TUESDAY...WEAK OVERRUNNING INDICATED WITH COLD ARCTIC HIGH
PUSHING INTO AREA TO LIMIT CLOUDS AND SNOW TO SOUTH SECTIONS AND MAINLY
LIGHT...IF ANY AMOUNTS.  TEMPS NEAR TO BELOW GUIDANCE AS ARCTIC AIR
SPILLS IN AND SOME CLOUDS LIMIT HEATING.  CLEARING TUESDAY NIGHT WITH
VERY COLD TEMPS NEAR TO BELOW MAV AS ARCTIC HIGH SETTLES OVERHEAD.

.EXTENDED (TUE-SAT)...
MODERATE VARIANCE IN MODELS SUGGEST CHANCE OF SATURDAY WITH NEXT SYSTEM
IN FORM OF RAIN OR SNOW.  TEMPS SLOWLY MODERATE TIL THEN WITH CHANCE OF
ANOTHER ARCTIC SHOT BY FRIDAY BUT BELIEVE UKMET A TAD2 TOO STRONG AND
USE BLEND OF AVNEXT AND ECMWF.  THUS...TEMPS NEAR MEX EXCEPT WEDNESDAY
WITH ARCTIC HIGH STILL AROUND FOR 1-2 CATEGORIES BELOW.

.DVN...
IA...NONE.
IL...NONE.
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

3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Whiteside

When: February 25, 10:45 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Whiteside forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.756, -89.914 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Henry

When: February 25, 10:45 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Henry forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.353, -90.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Rock Island

When: February 25, 10:45 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Rock Island forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.467, -90.567 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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: 5234185, 5234186, 5234187.