Ice Storm in Missouri, February 21, 2001

Name: Ice Storm in Missouri, February 21, 2001
Start: 2001-02-21T18:30
End: 2001-02-21T23:00
Location: Missouri

February 21, 2001 · NWS LSX · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

A fast moving winter storm put a coating of ice on a portion of southeast Missouri. The freezing rain changed over to sleet and snow leaving 2 to 3 inches of snow on top of the ice.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: 7

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.

A fast moving winter storm put a coating of ice on a portion of southeast Missouri. The freezing rain changed over to sleet and snow leaving 2 to 3 inches of snow on top of the ice. Trees and power lines were down throughout the area. Transportation was brought to a halt from the evening of the 21st through the 22nd.

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 Feb 21, 4:26 PM CST, 2 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 21, 4:26 PM CST, 2 hours 4 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
330 PM CST WED FEB 21 2001

ETA AT 12Z WAS SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHER MODELS IN HANDLING PCPN N OF
I-70...THEN THE MESOETA CAME IN AT 18Z AND THE NEW RUC BOTH AMPLIFIED
PCPN ACRS E CNTRL MO INTO W CNTRL IL. CONVECTION HAS DEVELOPED IN
UPGLIDE ACRS SWRN MO. LOOKS LIKE SFC RDG WILL HOLD TO N AND KEEP
CONVECTIVE PCPN IN JUST SRN 1/4 OR 1/3 OF CWA BUT TEMPS THERE REMAIN
BLO FRZG WITH DWPTS STILL IN UPPER TEENS. LOOK FOR SGFNT ICG EVENT
IN SRN THIRD OF CWA AND WL ISSUE ICE STORM WRNG FOR THAT AREA.
FURTHER N PCPN WILL STILL BE MIXTURE WITH MOSTLY SNOW ALG AND N OF
COU-STL-VLA LINE AND MIXED WITH GOOD AMOUNT OF SLEET ALONG SRN ST
LOUIS METRO AREA TO BELLEVILLE AREA AND WWD TWD ROLLA. HV GONE WITH
WNTR WX ADVISORIES FOR THOSE AREAS BUT THEY MAY HAVE TO BE MONITERED
CLOSELY IF RUC IS RIGHT. TEMPS SHOULD RETURN TO ABV FREEZING TMW
WHICH WILL MELT TNGTS ACTIVITY QUICKLY...BUT WENT BLO GUIDANCE DUE
TO SNOW/ICE
COVER.

STORM SYS FOR WEEKEND LOOKS INTERESTING...SVR WX TIME?

STL...NONE

PEDIGO

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Crawford

When: February 21, 6:30 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.976, -91.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Washington

When: February 21, 6:30 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.962, -90.877 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, St. Francois

When: February 21, 6:30 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: St. Francois forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.810, -90.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Ste. Genevieve

When: February 21, 6:30 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Ste. Genevieve forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.894, -90.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Reynolds

When: February 21, 6:30 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Reynolds forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.362, -90.969 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Iron

When: February 21, 6:30 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Iron forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.504, -90.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Madison

When: February 21, 6:30 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.478, -90.345 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Missouri in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Missouri, 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: 5233287, 5233288, 5233289, 5233290, 5233291, 5233292, 5233293.