Missouri, 2002

Ice Storm in Missouri, January 29 to 30, 2002

January 29 to 30, 2002 · NWS LSX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

An ice storm struck parts of central and northeast Missouri from the night of January 29 through the afternoon of January 30. With the temperature in the upper 20s to near 30, the falling rain quickly froze on exposed surfaces such as trees and power lines.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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
9

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.

An ice storm struck parts of central and northeast Missouri from the night of January 29 through the afternoon of January 30. With the temperature in the upper 20s to near 30, the falling rain quickly froze on exposed surfaces such as trees and power lines. In central Missouri, the ice generally accumulated from 1/4 to near 1/2 inch thick. Parts of northeast Missouri were hit harder as the ice accumulated from 1/2 to near 1 inch thick. Power outages were widespread as trees, power lines and power poles broke from the weight of the ice. Some residents were without power for 3 to 5 days. The following counties were declared Federal Disaster areas: Audrain, Boone, Knox, Lewis, Marion, Monroe, Ralls, and Shelby.

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 29, 9:58 PM CST, 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 9:58 PM CST, 2 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
955 PM TUE JAN 29 2002

TEMP DROP ACR FA THIS EVE HAS BEEN SLOW...WHICH HAS DELAYED ONSET OF
FRZG RAIN IN THE UIN/COU AREAS BY A CPL OF HRS.  HWVR...SFC OBS THIS
EVE JUST NW OF CWFA INDICATE SUB FRZG TEMPS WL PUSH INTO NW THIRD OF
AREA AS THE NGT PROGRESSES...AND WRNG ISSUED BY DAY SHFT LKS TO BE
RIGHT ON THE MARK.

DID ADD A LTL BIT OF SLEET TO FAR N ZNS BASED ON 00Z ETA SNDGS
WHICH SGFNTLY COOL 900-700 LYR.  HWVR...BLV THAT THIS MAY BE A BIT
OVRDONE...SO WL DEFER ANY ADDITIONAL PCPN TYPE CHGS TO A MORE
THOROUGH EXAMINATION BY THE MID WATCH.

.STL...WINTER STORM WARNING TNGT THRU THU
ILZ095>097-MOZ018-019-026-027-034>036-041-042-047>051-059

TRUETT

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Boone

When
January 29, 10:00 PM CST to January 30, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Boone forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.991, -92.310 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An ice storm struck parts of central and northeast Missouri from the night of January 29 through the daytime hours of January 30. With temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees, rain quickly froze on exposed surfaces, such as trees, power lines, and roads. In central Missouri, ice generally accumulated from 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. In northeast Missouri, the ice froze from 1/2 to near 1 inch thick. Power outages occurred in all the affected counties, with some people without electricity for 2 to 3 days. The following counties were declared Federal Disaster areas; Audrain, Boone, Knox, Lewis, Marion, Monroe, Ralls and Shelby.

Ice Storm, Audrain

When
January 29, 10:00 PM CST to January 30, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Audrain forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.216, -91.842 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Knox

When
January 29, 10:00 PM CST to January 30, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Knox forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.128, -92.148 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Lewis

When
January 29, 10:00 PM CST to January 30, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Lewis forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.097, -91.722 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Marion

When
January 29, 10:00 PM CST to January 30, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Marion forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.806, -91.622 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Moniteau

When
January 29, 10:00 PM CST to January 30, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Moniteau forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.633, -92.583 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Monroe

When
January 29, 10:00 PM CST to January 30, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.496, -92.001 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Ralls

When
January 29, 10:00 PM CST to January 30, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Ralls forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.528, -91.522 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Shelby

When
January 29, 10:00 PM CST to January 30, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Shelby forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.798, -92.077 (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

More

Every storm in Missouri in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, January 2002

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: 5276441, 5276442, 5276443, 5276444, 5276445, 5276446, 5276447, 5276448, 5276449.