Winter Storm, Hancock
- When
- January 15, 11:00 PM CST to January 16, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Hancock forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.404, -91.165 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Illinois, January 15 to 16, 2003
A vigorous winter storm developed over the plains during the evening and moved across northern Missouri and central Illinois on the 16th. A large area of snow developed to the north of this system and moved across portions of southeast Iowa, extreme northeast Missouri and west central Illinois depositing anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow.
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
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 DVN wrote it up.
A vigorous winter storm developed over the plains during the evening and moved across northern Missouri and central Illinois on the 16th. A large area of snow developed to the north of this system and moved across portions of southeast Iowa, extreme northeast Missouri and west central Illinois depositing anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow.
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 Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 15, 10:00 PM CST, 1 hour earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 15, 10:00 PM CST, 1 hour before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 1000 PM CST WED JAN 15 2003 UPDATE TO COME OUT SHORTLY TO REDUCE SNOW AMOUNTS A LITTLE...BUT WILL BE LEAVING ADVISORY IN PLACE. THIS SYSTEM IS A RELATIVELY VIGOROUS...BUT HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF DRY AIR BEING ENTRAINED INTO THE WARM SECTOR OF THIS SYSTEM...AND HOW FAR SOUTH THE 850 LOW IS SWINGING. ALSO...LOW LEVEL FLOW OVER THE CWA IS FROM THE NORTHEAST...WHICH IS CHARACTERISTICALLY VERY DRY AND REALLY KNOCKS DOWN SNOW AMOUNTS. HOWEVER...HAVE JUST GOTTEN SOME RELIABLE REPORTS OF SNOW ALONG THE IA/MO BORDER...WITH AS MUCH AS 1 INCH ON THE GROUND. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UNDER THE MAIN SNOW BAND ALONG THE IA MO BORDER AS IT EXTENDS BACK TO THE WEST ARE BETWEEN 4 AND 5 INCHES...AND WITH THE SYSTEM LOSING STRENGTH THAT SHOULD BE THE MOST WE COULD EXPECT ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PARTS OF OUR CWA. OTHERWISE...NOT MUCH MORE THAN SOME COSMETIC TWEAKS. .DVN...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING IA...IAZ087>089-098-099. IL...ILZ025-026-034-035. MO...MOZ009-010. LRE
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 15, 4:55 AM CST, 18 hours 5 minutes before
IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-161000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED TYPO IN DAY ONE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 455 AM CST WED JAN 15 2003 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FOR LOCATIONS ALONG AND SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 34... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN IOWA... NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... SNOW WILL DEVELOP BY LATE EVENING ACROSS SOUTHEAST IOWA AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI...AND THEN INCREASE AND SPREAD EAST ACROSS THE REST OF THE ADVISORY AREA OVERNIGHT WITH 2 TO 4 INCHES FALLING BY DAYBREAK THURSDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... SNOW WILL DIMINISH TO FLURRIES THURSDAY AFTERNOON SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 34 WITH STORM TOTALS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES EXPECTED. AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF A KEOSAUQUA...TO ROSEVILLE ILLINOIS LINE ARE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE HIGHER SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES. THEN...BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL GENERALLY PERSIST THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD. A PASSING DISTURBANCE THIS WEEKEND WILL SPAWN LIGHT SNOW WITH MINOR OR NO ACCUMULATION. A STRONG ARCTIC FRONT LATE MONDAY OR TUESDAY WILL USHER IN THE COLDEST AIR OF THE WINTER SEASON SO FAR NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE QUAD CITIES REQUESTS SNOWFALL REPORTS FROM SPOTTERS TONIGHT AND THURSDAY. && FOR MORE INFORMATION LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING URL... HTTP:WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/DVN (ALL LOWER CASE) NICHOLS
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, McDonough
- When
- January 15, 11:00 PM CST to January 16, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- McDonough forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.456, -90.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Warren
- When
- January 15, 11:00 PM CST to January 16, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Warren forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.849, -90.615 (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
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, January 15, 2003
- Heavy Snow in New York, January 15, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 15, 2003
- Winter Storm in Kansas, January 15 to 16, 2003
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, January 15 to 16, 2003
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, January 15 to 16, 2003
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, January 15, 2003
- Winter Storm in Iowa, January 15 to 16, 2003
- Winter Weather in Maryland, January 15, 2003
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, January 15, 2003
- Winter Storm in Kansas, January 15 to 16, 2003
- High Wind in Colorado, January 15, 2003
More
Every storm in Illinois in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, January 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: 5341526, 5341527, 5341528.