Illinois, 2001

Heavy Snow in Illinois, January 1, 2001

January 1, 2001 · NWS DVN · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A slow-moving upper-level disturbance moved through Iowa during the late evening hours of 12/31/00 through the early morning of January 1st. The system brought light to moderate snow to east central and northeast Iowa, and far northwest Illinois.

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

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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.

A slow-moving upper-level disturbance moved through Iowa during the late evening hours of 12/31/00 through the early morning of January 1st. The system brought light to moderate snow to east central and northeast Iowa, and far northwest Illinois. Snowfall amounts of one to three inches were common, before the snow tapered to flurries before sunrise. The system tracked east into the Ohio Valley through the day.

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 Dec 31, 2:45 PM CST, 9 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 2:45 PM CST, 9 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
245 PM CST SUN DEC 31 2000

PERSISTENT SNOW BAND ENHANCING FROM FAIRBANK TO TIPTON TO MUSCATINE
TO ALEDO AND SLOWLY SHIFTING EAST INTO THE QUAD CITIES IN AN AREA OF
ISENTROPIC LIFT.  MOST AREAS IN THIS BAND RECEIVED ON THE ORDER OF AN
INCH THIS MORNING...WITH FAIRBANK AND OELWEIN COMING IN AT 1.7-1.8
INCHES.  UPPER LOW HAS CLOSED OFF JUST NORTH OF DMX AND IS STILL
TRACKING SOUTH.  EXPECT SNOW TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING THEN
TAPER OFF TOWARD MORNING AS SUBSIDENCE FOLLOWS THE LOW INTO THE MID
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. EXPECT ANOTHER 1 TO 2 INCHES TONIGHT MOST AREAS
BEFORE IT ENDS.

SOME CLEARING ON MONDAY WILL HELP OFFSET THE SURFACE RIDGE SETTLING
INTO THE REGION.  WILL OPT FOR MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD MAV NUMBERS
THROUGH MONDAY THEN COOLER MONDAY NIGHT WITH A WARMING TREND FOR THE
END OF THE WEEK.  FMR NUMBERS ARE A BIT OPTIMISTIC GIVEN 12 TO 20
INCHES OF SNOWPACK...SO WILL KEEP THE WARMING TREND BUT SHAVE 10 TO
20 DEGREES OFF GUIDANCE. NORTHWEST FLOW CONTINUES OVER THE MIDWEST
THROUGH  NEXT WEEKEND...WITH PERIODIC CHANCES OF SNOW WITH A STRING
OF SHORT WAVES.  NEXT CHANCE IS TUESDAY NIGHT/WEDNESDAY...LULL
THURSDAY...THEN ANOTHER LOW CHANCE FRIDAY...LULL SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY.

TODAYS SNOWFALL HAS PUSHED THE QUAD CITIES WELL OVER THE 30-INCH
MARK...SMASHING THE PREVIOUS RECORD. 12 TOTAL RECORDS BROKEN THIS
MONTH IN OUR AREA...INCLUDING THE SNOWIEST MONTH EVER. COLEST MONTH
ALSO LIKELY WILL BREAK...BUT WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR FINAL NUMBERS AT
MIDNIGHT.  DETAILS ARE SUMMARIZED ON OUR WEB SITE AT
WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/DVN/

.DVN...
IA...NONE.
IL...NOINE.
MO...NONE.

33

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Carroll

When
January 1, 12:00 AM CST to 4:00 AM CST
Where
Carroll forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
42.069, -89.934 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Jo Daviess

When
January 1, 12:00 AM CST to 4:00 AM CST
Where
Jo Daviess forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
42.366, -90.212 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Rock Island

When
January 1, 12:00 AM CST to 4:00 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

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Illinois in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, January 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: 5231279, 5231280, 5231281.