Frost/Freeze, Bureau
- When
- May 3, 1:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
- Where
- Bureau forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.404, -89.529 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Frost and Freeze in Illinois, May 3, 2003
Temperatures more typical of early April associated with Canadian high pressure invaded Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois. Temperatures in the low to mid 30s created widespread frost with co-operative observers reporting a low of 33 and 30 in Hennipin and Mount Carroll Illinois.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
- 6
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.
Temperatures more typical of early April associated with Canadian high pressure invaded Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois. Temperatures in the low to mid 30s created widespread frost with co-operative observers reporting a low of 33 and 30 in Hennipin and Mount Carroll Illinois. Due to a cool spring, crops were either barely planted or had just sprouted in the ground.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
6 frost/freeze. Local standard time, as filed.
Frost/Freeze, Carroll
- When
- May 3, 1:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
- Where
- Carroll forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 42.069, -89.934 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Frost/Freeze, Jo Daviess
- When
- May 3, 1:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
- Where
- Jo Daviess forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 42.366, -90.212 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Frost/Freeze, Stephenson
- When
- May 3, 1:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
- Where
- Stephenson forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 42.352, -89.662 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Frost/Freeze, Putnam
- When
- May 3, 1:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
- Where
- Putnam forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.205, -89.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Frost/Freeze, Whiteside
- When
- May 3, 1:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
- Where
- Whiteside forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.756, -89.914 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Frost/Freeze
- Frost or temperatures at or below freezing during the growing season, usually filed for crop damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail in North Carolina, May 3, 2003
- Hail in North Carolina, May 3, 2003
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 3, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, May 3, 2003
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 3, 2003
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 3, 2003
- Damaging Winds in Louisiana, May 3, 2003
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 3, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 3, 2003
- Hail in South Carolina, May 3, 2003
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, May 3, 2003
- Hail in North Carolina, May 3, 2003
More
Every storm in Illinois in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, May 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5360360, 5360361, 5360362, 5360363, 5360364, 5360365.