Illinois, 2003

Winter Storm in Illinois, February 14 to 15, 2003

February 14 to 15, 2003 · NWS LOT · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A winter storm developed over the central plains Thursday February 13th and slowly moved east across the Ohio Valley on February 14th and 15th. The storm dumped between 6 and 9 inches of snow across parts of central Illinois.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
3

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 LOT wrote it up.

A winter storm developed over the central plains Thursday February 13th and slowly moved east across the Ohio Valley on February 14th and 15th. The storm dumped between 6 and 9 inches of snow across parts of central Illinois. Chatsworth reported 8 inches, Pontiac reported 7 inches and Gibson City reported 6 inches. By Saturday morning, strong northerly winds produced significant blowing and drifting snow with near blizzard conditions in some areas on Saturday the 15th. Just north of this area across La Salle, Grundy, and Kankakee counties, snowfall amounts ranged from 3 to 5 inches.

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 Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 14, 3:20 PM CST, 4 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 14, 3:20 PM CST, 4 hours 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
320 PM CST FRI FEB 14 2003

PUBLIC DISCUSSION FOR AFTERNOON ZONES:

SATLT IMAGERY CONTINUES TO SHOW ENHANCED COLD CLOUD TOPS ASSD WITH
CNTRL PLAINS SHORT WV CONTG NEWD. RADAR LOOPS HAVE SHOWN INCRSG PCPN
COVG ACROSS ERN IA NWRN AND CNTRL IL WITH THIS AREA.  HOWEVER...HAVE
DECIDED TO CANCEL ADVSRY FOR NRN IL AND LAKE/PORTER CO. IN INDIANA
AS RADAR LOOPS ALSO SHOW LEADING EDGE OF SNOW HAVING DIFFICULTY
MOVING INTO DRY AMS.  VAD WIND PROFILE FROM KLOT IS SHOWING PCPN ALF
BASE LWRG AND IS NOW DOWN TO ARND 3 THOUSAND FT.  NONETHELESS...WITH
HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING TO N OF GRTLKS IT APPEARS NOW THAT THE NWD
EXTENT OF WARM ADVECTION AND SIG SNOWFALL WILL BE LIMITED AND
SNOWFALL ACRS RFD AND CHI AREAS WILL BE MEAGER.  STG GRADIENT LIKELY
WITH SNOWFALL AMTS...FCST TO INCRS RPDLY S OF I-80. WILL GO WITH
SNOW ADVSRY TIER OF COUNTIES IMMEDIATELY S OF I-80 AND WINTER STM
WARNING FOR 5-8 INCHES OF SNOW PONTIAC-WATSEKA AREAS.

NO SIGNIFICANT CHANCES PLANNED AT THIS TIME FOR LATER PERIODS.

.CHI...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT THROUGH SAT MORNING FOR
       LIVINGSTON...FORD IROQUOIS AND BENTON COUNTIES. SNOW ADVSRY
       FOR TONIGHT FOR LASALLE...GRUNDY...KANKAKEE...JASPER AND
       NEWTON COUNTIES.

MERZLOCK

AVIATION DISCUSSION FOR 18Z TAFS:

GIVEN LATEST MODEL OSCILLATION OF SLOWER/DRIER/A BIT FARTHER
SOUTH...HAVE BACKED OFF MVRF/IFR VIS AND CIGS IN SNOW FOR THIS
AFTERNOON. BEST PROBABILITY FOR SNOW LOOKS TO BE DURING THE EVENING
HOURS...AFTER THE ORD RUSH. HAVE LIMITED CONDTIONS TO MVFR FOR
NOW...THOUGH AS INDICATED IN UPDATED PUBLIC DISCUSSION BELOW MAY
STILL SEE MORE SIGNIFICANT PRECIP EVENT THAN CURRENT 12Z MODEL RUNS
INDICATE.

RATZER
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 14, 6:00 AM CST, 14 hours before
ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019-020>023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011-019
-151200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
600 AM CST FRI FEB 14 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
ILLINOIS...NORTHWEST INDIANA...AND THE ADJACENT WATERS OF LAKE
MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE... TODAY AND TONIGHT

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR AREAS GENERALLY SOUTH OF A
LINE FROM MENDOTA TO MORRIS...TO KANKAKEE ILLINOIS TO WHEATFIELD
INDIANA.  THIS AREA WILL EXPERIENCE A MIX OF SNOW...SLEET AND
FREEZING RAIN LATER TODAY BECOMING ALL SNOW TONIGHT.  SIGNIFICANT
ICE ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY...WHILE TOTAL SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 7 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY SATURDAY DAYBREAK.
SOME BLOWING SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT.

A SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FARTHER NORTH THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT...EXCEPT FOR THE COUNTIES BORDERING WISCONSIN.  THIS
INCLUDES MOST OF THE CHICAGO METRO AREA...AND AREAS IN INDIANA NORTH
OF THE KANKAKEE RIVER.  SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES ARE
EXPECTED BY SATURDAY DAYBREAK. SOME BLOWING SNOW IS EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP OVERNIGHT.

A GALE WARNING IS EFFECT FOR SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN WITH GALE FORCE
WINDS EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT.

A MAJOR WINTER STORM IS MOVIMG OUT OF THE PLAINS AND MISSISSIPPI
VALLEY TODAY AND WILL BRING A VARIETY OF WINTRY WEATHER TO THE AREA
BEGINNING BY MID-MORNING IN SOUTHWESTERN SECTIONS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

A GALE WARNING IS EFFECT FOR SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN WITH GALE FORCE
WINDS EXPECTED SATURDAY MORNING.

SNOW WILL LINGER INTO SATURDAY AND EVEN SATURDAY EVENING IN FAR
SOUTHERN SECTIONS ALTHOUGH ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO
BE MINOR.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

VOLUNTEER SNOWFALL SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO PROVIDE SNOWFALL
REPORTS.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Livingston

When
February 14, 8:00 PM CST to February 15, 8:00 PM CST
Where
Livingston forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.892, -88.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ford

When
February 14, 8:00 PM CST to February 15, 8:00 PM CST
Where
Ford forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.597, -88.223 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Iroquois

When
February 14, 8:00 PM CST to February 15, 8:00 PM CST
Where
Iroquois forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.747, -87.824 (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 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, February 2003

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: 5343902, 5343903, 5343904.