Illinois, 2001

Winter Storm in Illinois, January 26, 2001

January 26, 2001 · NWS LSX · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Light rain began falling during the early morning hours of January 26 resulting in a thin coating of ice on area roads by the morning drive time. Most schools across the area were closed and numerous traffic accidents were reported.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 LSX wrote it up.

Light rain began falling during the early morning hours of January 26 resulting in a thin coating of ice on area roads by the morning drive time. Most schools across the area were closed and numerous traffic accidents were reported. By mid-morning temperatures had risen above freezing and the ice was gone.

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 St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 25, 4:04 PM CST, 8 hours 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 25, 4:04 PM CST, 8 hours 56 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
330 PM CST THU JAN 25 2001

SHRTWV TROF FM SWRN CO SE THRU ERN NM WL MOV E-NEWD THRU CNTRL MO
EARLY FRI...BRINGING A QUICK SHOT OF A WNTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION TO
THE CWFA LATE TGT AND FRI MRNG.  ETA MDL DEPICTS STG UPR DIVERGENCE
MOVG INTO E CNTRL MO BY 12Z FRI IN LFT EXIT REGION OF ULJ STRK MOVG
EWD INTO SRN MO.  STG 850 MB THETA E ADVCTN AND MOISTURE CNVG WL MOV
THRU CNTRL MO BTWN 06-12Z FRI ON THE NOSE OF 50-60 KT SLY LLJ AHD OF
850 MB TROF.  A MIX OF PCPN TYPES EXPECTED AS STG LLJ CREATES AN
ELEVATED WRM LYR ABV ZERO DGRS C...S OF UIN.  WITH EVAPORATIVE
COOLING PCPN SHOULD BGN AS SNOW...THEN CHANGE OVR TO A MIX OF SLEET
AND FREEZING RAIN OVR CNTRL MO AS WRMG CONTS.  WITH THE SFC LOW MOVG
ACRS IA MO BRDR...SLY WNDS IN THE BNDRY LYR SHOULD WRM SFC TEMPS ABV
FREEZING BY NOON S OF THE UIN AREA...ALTHOUGH BY THIS TIME FRCNG WL
WKN AS VORT MAX MOVS E OF THE CWFA AND MOISTURE BCMS MORE SHALLOW
FAVORING DRIZZLE FOR THE AFTN HOURS.  NEW 18Z MESOETA APRS WRMR THAN
PREVIOUS RUN WITH 2 DGR C MAX TEMP AT STL AND FAM IN ELEVATED WRM
LYR AT 12Z FRI WHICH WOULD FAVOR SLEET.  MESOETA SOUNDING AT UIN
STAYS BLW ZERO AT ALL LVLS THRU NOON...FAVORING ALL SNOW.  WITH STG
LLJ LT TGT AND INCRS SLY WNDS IN THE BNDRY LYR MESOETA MAY BE A LTL
TOO COOL IN THE LOW-MID LVLS.  WL MENTION MAINLY SNOW IN UIN...A MIX
OF SNOW...SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN CNTRL...AND SLEET AND FREEZING
RAIN FAM AREA LT TGT AND FRI MRNG WITH A WINTER WX ADVSRY.  WITH THE
FAIRLY QUICK SPEED OF THE SYSTEM QPF SHOULD NOT BE ABV ADVSRY
CRITERIA WITH 2 TO 4 INCHES POSSIBLE IN UIN JUST W OF THE VORT MAX
TRACK.  FURTHER S...1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW/SLEET ACCUMULATION IS
POSSIBLE.  ETA/AVN MDLS ONLY DEPICT ABOUT 2 G/KG MIXING RATIOS MOVG
NWD INTO CWFA AT 300K WHERE MDLS SHOW THE MAX LFT.  MAJIC CHART
SHOWS BEST NET UPWARD VERTICAL DISPLACEMENT AT 12Z FRI OVR THE NRN
HALF OF THE CWFA WITH ARND 40 TO NR 50 MB RISES.  MDLS DEPICT DRY
SLOT ALREADY PUSHING EWD INTO THE SRN HALF OF THE CWFA BY 18Z FRI
WITH LINGERING WRPARND MOISTURE IN THE UIN ZN.  WITH CLOUDS MOVING
IN LTR TGT AND SLY WNDS INCRSG...TEMPS WL FALL THIS EVNG THEN BCM
STEADY OR EVEN SLOWLY RISE DURING THE LATE HOURS.  WITH LOW LVL
CLOUDINESS AND AT LEAST MRNG PCPN FWC/MAV MAX GUIDANCE APR A LTL HI
AND WL UNDERCUT.

.STL...WNTR WX ADVSRY LT TGT AND FRI MRNG OVR ENTR CWA
GKS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Madison

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.830, -89.905 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, St. Clair

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
St. Clair forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.470, -89.928 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Marion

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Marion forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.650, -88.919 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Greene

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Greene forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.356, -90.390 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jersey

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Jersey forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.086, -90.357 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Calhoun

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Calhoun forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.169, -90.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Bond

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Bond forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.887, -89.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Macoupin

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Macoupin forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.261, -89.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Montgomery

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.231, -89.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fayette

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Fayette forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.000, -89.024 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Monroe

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.279, -90.177 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clinton

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Clinton forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.607, -89.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Washington

When
January 26, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.352, -89.410 (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

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: 5228164, 5228165, 5228166, 5228167, 5228168, 5228169, 5228170, 5228171, 5228172, 5228173, 5228174, 5228175, 5228176.