Heavy Snow in Illinois, January 26 to 27, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Illinois, January 26 to 27, 2001
Start: 2001-01-26T02:00
End: 2001-01-27T04:00
Location: Illinois

January 26 to 27, 2001 · NWS DVN · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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: 13

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.

An upper-level low tracked from northern Missouri during the early morning of 1/26, into central Illinois by evening. Light snow began in far northeast Missouri and east central Iowa around 2 am, then spread eastward into western Illinois around sunrise. The snow tapered to flurries during the early evening. Snowfall accumulations ranging from two to four inches were common along and south of the U.S. Highway 34 corridor, with lesser amounts of one to two inches to the north. Henderson County Illinois received amounts up to five inches. As the system continued progressing to the east, a northwest wind increased during the late afternoon and evening, with gusts up to 30 miles an hour. The strong wind produced considerable blowing and drifting snow, which created low visibilities in open and rural areas, and partially blocked roads. Law enforcement officials reported at least eight deaths across the area in weather-related traffic accidents Friday night and early Saturday morning. A law enforcement official attributed the numerous accidents to rapidly changing road conditions and motorists traveling too fast for conditions. Law enforcement also handled numerous minor accidents and vehicles in ditches during the period. Many area schools were closed Friday, or dismissed early. Hazardous driving conditions continued into the early morning hours of 1/27, before the winds relaxed.

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 Jan 25, 3:16 PM CST, 10 hours 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 25, 3:16 PM CST, 10 hours 44 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
245 PM CST THU JAN 25 2001

SURFACE RIDGE HAS SHIFTED EAST AND IS NOW MOVING INTO WESTERN
KENTUCKY.  WIND PROFILERS AND SATELLITE SHOW THE UPPER TROUGH
MAKING HEADWAY INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS.

FORECAST CHALLENGES IN THE SHORTER TERM ARE TEMPS TONIGHT...QPF FOR
FRIDAY...AND DURATION OF SNOW.

WARM ADVECTION INCREASES OVERNIGHT AS THE SURFACE LOW WINDS UP TO
OUR WEST.  MEANWHILE CLOUDS WILL BE INCREASING AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM.
WOULD EXPECT A DROP OFF IN TEMPS THIS EVENING THEN A REBOUND WITH
TEMPERATURES RISING OVERNIGHT AS THE STRONGEST WAA MOVES IN.  WILL
WORD AS EVENING LOWS A CAT OR SO BELOW CURRENT TEMPS THEN RISING
TEMPS.

AS THE UPPER TROUGH APPROACHES...STRONG DYNAMICS WILL SATURATE THE
COLUMN FAIRLY QUICKLY WITH SNOW BEGINNING AROUND SUNRISE AND
CONTINUING THROUGH THE MORNING.  HEAVIER SNOW WILL TAPER OFF DURING
THE AFTERNOON WITH LINGER LIGHT SNOW CONTINUING OVERNIGHT. MODELS
ARE PAINTING 2 TO 3 TENTHS OF LIQUID EQUIVALENT QPF THROUGH 00Z
SATURDAY. GARCIA METHOD YIELDS 3 TO 5 INCHES...BUT WITH THE DURATION
WELL LESS THAN 12 HOURS...EXPECT LESS.  MODEL FORECAST SOUNDINGS
HAVE COOLED WITH ALL SNOW NOW FORECAST...SO RAIN SNOW LINE SHOULD BE
SOUTH OF OUR CWFA.  WITH THIS IN MIND...AND AFTER COORDINATION WITH
NEIGHBORING OFFICES...WILL PUT 2 TO 4 INCHES EAST AND SOUTH WITH 1
TO 3 IN NORTHWESTERN QUADRANT.

AS MENTIONED BEFORE...BEST DYNAMICS WILL BE IN THE MORNING AND
ACROSS CENTRAL ILLINOIS.  BUT LINGERING SNOW THOUGH THE AFTERNOON
AND A SECOND SHOT OF LIFT WITH AN UPPER TROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT SO LIGHT
SNOW LIKELY TO RESUME BRIEFLY FRIDAY NIGHT.  MODELS INDICATE
DRYING/SUBSIDENCE SATURDAY WITH NORTHWEST FLOW SO WILL BACK OFF ON
CLOUDS AND FLURRIES FOR SATURDAY.

NEXT SYSTEM OF INTEREST IS STILL ON TARGET FOR MONDAY TUESDAY.  AS
USUAL...MODEL DISCREPANCIES ARISE BY 96 HOURS.  ECMWF IS LESS
DRAMATIC...AND MORE REASONABLE...THAN YESTERDAY.  NO MAJOR CHANGES
NEEDED IN THE TIMING.  MAY TWEAK MIN TEMPS DOWN A BIT AS WE LOOK TO
STAY IN THE COLD AIR THROUGH DAY 7.  CYCLONIC FLOW WITH CAA SUGGESTS
LOW POPS NEEDED FOR WEDNESDAY...BUT THESE LOOK LIKE TIMING
ISSUES...SO WILL NOT CHANGE THE EXTENDED ATTM.  HOWEVER...IF IT
STILL LOOKS LIKE PRECIP WEDNESDAY WITH THE NEXT RUN...WILL LIKELY
NEED TO ADJUST THE EXTENDED.

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

13 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Bureau

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Bureau forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.404, -89.529 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Carroll

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 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, Hancock

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Hancock forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.404, -91.165 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Henderson

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Henderson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.818, -90.925 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Henry

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 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)

Heavy Snow, Jo Daviess

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 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, McDonough

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where: McDonough forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.456, -90.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Mercer

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.205, -90.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Putnam

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Putnam forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.205, -89.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Rock Island

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 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)

Heavy Snow, Stephenson

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Stephenson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.352, -89.662 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Warren

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.849, -90.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Whiteside

When: January 26, 2:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 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)

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

Every storm in Illinois in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5228308, 5228309, 5228310, 5228311, 5228312, 5228313, 5228314, 5228315, 5228316, 5228317, 5228318, 5228319, 5228320.