Ice Storm in Missouri, January 28, 2001

Name: Ice Storm in Missouri, January 28, 2001
Start: 2001-01-28T04:00
End: 2001-01-28T10:00
Location: Missouri

January 28, 2001 · NWS SGF · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: 4

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 SGF wrote it up.

Periods of freezing rain developed over portions of southwest and west central Missouri during the early morning hours, then spread northeast across central Missouri. Ice accumulated up to one quarter of an inch on area roadways, power lines and trees. Some minor traffic accidents were reported along with a few power outages, especially around Osceola, Lowry City and Mindenmines. No injuries were reported.

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 Springfield, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 28, 3:28 AM CST, 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 28, 3:28 AM CST, 32 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
328 AM CST SUN JAN 28 2001

FORECAST CHALLENGES ABOUND THIS MORNING.  PRIMARY CONCERN IS WHAT TO
DO WITH EXISTING WINTER STORM WARNING.  07Z SURFACE ANALYSIS
DEPICTED INVERTED TROUGH SITUATED ALONG OR JUST NORTH OF INTERSTATE
44.  SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW ON THE LEE SIDE OF THIS TROUGH HAS KEPT
DOWNSLOPE COMPONENT OF WIND IN THE SPRINGFIELD AREA...WHERE
TEMPERATURES HAVE REMAINED ABOVE FREEZING.  AFFECTS ALSO NOTED
TOWARDS JOPLIN AS WELL...WHERE READINGS HAVE BOUNCED BETWEEN 33 AND
34 DEGREES THE PAST SEVERAL HOURS.

STRONG WAA PROGGED BY THE ETA/AVN LATER TODAY...AND HAVE SOME
CONCERNS THAT THE ETA INITIALIZED AND PROGS BL TEMPERATURES TOO
COLD THROUGH THIS MORNING.  AS A RESULT...EXPECT CONTINUED ICING
PROBLEMS THIS MORNING NORTHWEST OF THE INVERTED TROF.  WILL KEEP ICE
STORM WARNING UP IN THIS AREA THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON.  HAVE MY
DOUBTS THAT MUCH FREEZING RAIN WILL FALL SOUTH OF THIS LINE...GIVEN
QUESTIONABLE THERMODYNAMIC PROFILES AND QPF AMOUNTS.  FOR CONTINUITY
SAKE AND ALSO FOR POTENTIAL OF FREEZING RAIN EARLY...WILL HOIST A
FREEZING RAIN/WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ALONG THE I-44 CORRIDOR
THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON.  ANTICIPATE CHANGEOVER TO ALL RAIN MAY OCCUR
RAPIDLY AS H85 TEMPERATURES WARM QUICKLY TO BETWEEN 6C AND 8C
COURTESY OF STRENGTHENING 850MB LLJ.

CONCERNS TONIGHT TURN TOWARDS CONVECTION AND POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY
HEAVY RAINFALL.  STRONG QG FORCING PROGGED BY ETA/AVN MODELS LATER
TONIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING...WITH GOOD DIVERGENCE NOTED AT 300 MB
AND 60KT 850MB LLJ SETTING UP AS WELL.  WILL HIT THUNDER WORDING A
LITTLE HARDER THAN GOING FORECAST AND ALSO STICK IN LOCALLY HEAVY
RAIN TONIGHT ACROSS THE SW.  SURFACE TEMPERATURES TO SLOWLY WARM
OVERNIGHT AS WELL...AND WILL BRING CURRENT FORECAST TEMPERATURES UP
CLOSER TO A MAV/FWC BLEND.

RAIN THREAT TO END FROM WEST TO EAST DURING THE DAY MONDAY AS DRY
SLOT ROTATES AROUND THE SRN SIDE OF DEEPENING SFC LOW.  COULD SEE SOME
LIGHT WRAP-AROUND PRECIPITATION MONDAY NIGHT BUT NOT MUCH TO NOTE
ATTM.

NO CHANGES MADE TO EXTENDED PACKAGE THIS MORNING.  DAY CREW MAY NEED
TO ASSESS POTENTIAL FOR LIGHT SNOW ON WEDNESDAY AS WEAK SYSTEM
ROTATES INTO THE NRN PLAINS.

FCSTID = 18
SGF   40  40  47  32 / 100 100  90  30
JLN   42  41  46  31 / 100 100  90  30
UNO   40  40  51  34 /  60 100 100  40
VIH   38  37  48  34 /  80 100  90  50

.SGF...
MO...ICE STORM WARNING FOR SUNDAY FOR ZONES MOZ055>057...
MOZ066>069...MOZ077-MOZ078.

FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY FOR SUNDAY FOR ZONES MOZ079>080...
MOZ088>091...MOZ093>094.

KS...ICE STORM WARNINjG FOR SUNDAY FOR ZONES KSZ073...KSZ097.

HUDSON

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Barton

When: January 28, 4:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where: Barton forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.502, -94.347 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, St. Clair

When: January 28, 4:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where: St. Clair forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.037, -93.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Vernon

When: January 28, 4:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where: Vernon forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.851, -94.342 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Benton

When: January 28, 4:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where: Benton forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.295, -93.288 (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, 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: 5228686, 5228687, 5228688, 5228689.