Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Illinois, February 24 to 25, 2007

Name: Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Illinois, February 24 to 25, 2007
Start: 2007-02-24T07:45
End: 2007-02-25T02:15
Location: Illinois

February 24 to 25, 2007 · NWS DVN · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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: 1
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $965,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

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 widespread and crippling ice/snow storm affected eastern Iowa, northwest and western Illinois, and extreme northeast Missouri on February 24, 2007. This massive ice storm was the worst to affect the region since January 22-23, 1965. Ice accumulations of around one inch were common, with some reports to near two inches! To make matters worse, east winds gusting over 50 mph, combined with the heavy ice accumulation, brought down numerous tree branches and power lines, along with several thousand power poles. There were even whole trees crashing down from the weight of the ice. Widespread power outages occurred, affecting over 180,000 people, which lasted more than a week in some of the rural areas. Many shelters were opened to accommodate those without power. In the northern portions of the region in the colder air, snow was the problem. Accumulations of up to 7 inches occurred, with strong winds combining to create blizzard conditions. There was one direct death and one indirect serious injury due to the ice storm in northwest Illinois.

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 Feb 24, 3:15 AM CST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 3:15 AM CST, 4 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
315 AM CST SAT FEB 24 2007

.DISCUSSION...

...INTENSE AND EXTREME WINTER STORM TO IMPACT AREA NEXT 24-36
HOURS...

WILL TEND TO BE CONCISE DUE TO STRENGTH AND COMPLEXITY OF SYSTEM. KEY
IS HIGH CONFIDENCE ON WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH ONLY QUESTION TRANSITION
ZONES FROM SNOW...SLEET...FREEZING RAIN...RAIN...ROUGHLY 20-30 NM
EITHER WAY AS SYSTEM DEVELOPS. FOR MORE SPECIFICS ON METEOROLOGY
ISSUES PLEASE REVIEW LAST NIGHT/S FORECAST DISCUSSION...CHIAFDDVN AS
ALL STILL APPLY. EVAPORATIVE COOLING WILL TRANSITION INTENSE FORCING
OF RAIN TO SLEET AND THEN SNOW NORTH OF HIGHWAY 34. VERY STRONG EAST
WINDS OF 25 TO 40 MPH WITH ISOLATED GUSTS TO 50+ MPH TODAY INTO THIS
EVENING...ESPECIALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF I-80. STILL MOST AREAS TO
RECEIVE 1 TO 2 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION TO KEEP FLOOD WATCH NOW IN
EFFECT GOING.

ONE ITEM NOT INCLUDED IN FORECAST IS ISOLATED THUNDER DUE TO INTENSE
UVVS.  REASON LEFT OUT IS MAKES FORECAST TOO COMPLEX AND SECONDARY
TO WINTER WEATHER SITUATION.

HIGHWAY 20 CORRIDOR...WENT 12 TO 15 INCHES OF SNOW WITH WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS BY PM WITH WINDS.  THUS WENT WITH BLIZZARD WARNING.
COULD SEE INITIALLY A TENTH OF AN INCH OF FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET
BEFORE TRANSITION.

HIGHWAY 30 CORRIDOR...ICE UP TO A QUARTER INCH WITH SNOW AMOUNTS
OF 8 TO 12 INCHES WITH AGAIN NEAR WHITEOUT CONDITIONS TO WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS LATE PM.  WENT WINTER STORM WARNING EXCEPT NEAR CID WHERE
INCLUDED IN BLIZZARD WARNING.  THIS ENTIRE AREA MAY NEED UPGRADING
TO BLIZZARD WARNING LATER TODAY.

ALONG I-80...MAJOR ICE OF QUARTER TO HALF INCH OF FREEZING RAIN AND
SLEET CHANGING TO SNOW LATE PM INTO EVENING HOURS.  SNOW AMOUNTS TO
VARY FROM 3 TO 8 INCHES DUE TO CONVECTIVE NATURE...MAINLY HIGHER
NORTH OF I-80 AND LOWER SOUTH OF I-80. STRONG WINDS MAY CAUSE
SIGNIFICANT POWER OUTAGES. WENT WITH WINTER STORM WARNING.

HIGHWAY 92...SIGOURNEY TO MONMOUTH...MAJOR ICE EVENT WITH HALF INCH
OR MORE OF FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET WITH PERIODS OF SNOW MIXED IN.
SNOW AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES.  STRONG WINDS MAY CAUSE SIGNIFICANT
POWER OUTAGES. WENT WITH WINTER STORM WARNING.

ALONG AND SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 34...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR RAIN AND
FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET TODAY INTO EARLY THIS EVENING.

FIVE SEGMENTS...FOUR WARNINGS...BLIZZARD WARNING ALONG HIGHWAY 20...
THREE WINTER STORM WARNINGS TIERED BASED ON SNOW/ICE DISTRIBUTION
AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FAR SOUTH.

WILL EMPHASIZE GRAVITY AND STRENGTH OF WINTER WEATHER IN WSW
PRODUCTS.

MINOR CHANGES MADE BEYOND SUNDAY NIGHT DUE TO STRENGTH OF SYSTEM.

&&

.DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IA...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT ALONG HIGHWAY 20 UNTIL 6 AM
SUNDAY. WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FOR HIGHWAY 30 TO HIGHWAY
34 UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT SOUTH OF
HIGHWAY 34 UNTIL MIDNIGHT.
IL...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT ALONG HIGHWAY 20 UNTIL 6 AM
SUNDAY. WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FOR HIGHWAY 30 TO HIGHWAY
34 UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT SOUTH OF
HIGHWAY 34 UNTIL MIDNIGHT.
MO...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 34 UNTIL
MIDNIGHT.

&&

NICHOLS

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 24, 5:20 AM CST, 2 hours 25 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
520 AM CST SAT FEB 24 2007

IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007-009
-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-251100-
BENTON IA-BUCHANAN IA-BUREAU IL-CARROLL IL-CEDAR IA-CLARK MO-CLINTON
IA-DELAWARE IA-DES MOINES IA-DUBUQUE IA-HANCOCK IL-HENDERSON IL-HENRY
IA-HENRY IL-IOWA IA-JACKSON IA-JEFFERSON IA-JO DAVIESS IL-JOHNSON IA-
JONES IA-KEOKUK IA-LEE IA-LINN IA-LOUISA IA-MCDONOUGH IL-MERCER IL-
MUSCATINE IA-PUTNAM IL-ROCK ISLAND IL-SCOTLAND MO-SCOTT IA-
STEPHENSON IL-VAN BUREN IA-WARREN IL-WASHINGTON IA-WHITESIDE IL-
525 AM CST SAT FEB 24 2007

...POWERFUL...POTENTIALLY CRIPPLING AND DANGEROUS WINTER STORM TODAY
INTO SUNDAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL
ILLINOIS...NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST
CENTRAL IOWA...NORTHEAST IOWA...SOUTHEAST IOWA AND NORTHEAST
MISSOURI.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A VERY INTENSE STORM SYSTEM IN THE CENTRAL PLAINS WILL LIFT
NORTHEAST ACROSS KANSAS...MISSOURI INTO NORTHERN ILLINOIS TODAY
AND TONIGHT...SEVERELY IMPACTING THE AREA WITH VERY HIGH SNOW AND
ICE ACCUMULATIONS COMBINED WITH STRONG WINDS.

FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA AS THE DAY
PROGRESSES...WITH THIS WINTRY MIXTURE SWITCHING OVER TO SNOW THIS
AFTERNOON AND ESPECIALLY TONIGHT. SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF A
QUARTER INCH...UP TO A HALF INCH ARE GENERALLY EXPECTED TODAY FROM A
CEDAR RAPIDS...TO STERLING LINE...DOWN TO THE INTERSTATE 80 CORRIDOR.
A HALF INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATION OR MORE IS EXPECTED FROM JUST SOUTH
OF THE INTERSTATE 80 CORRIDOR...DOWN TO A FAIRFIELD TO MONMOUTH
LINE. SOME SLEET ACCUMULATION WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THIS EXTENT OF
ICING...COMBINED WITH STRONG EAST WINDS FROM 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS
UP TO 45 MPH...WILL LIKELY RESULT IN DOWNED TREE BRANCHES AND POWER
LINES.

THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...THE FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET TURNS TO
HEAVY SNOW...STRONG WINDS WILL PRODUCE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ALONG AND
NORTH OF THE ROUTE 30 CORRIDOR. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WILL CREATE
WHITEOUT CONDITIONS WITH POOR VISIBILITIES OF ONE-QUARTER MILE OR
LESS. THESE VERY HAZARDOUS AND LIFE THREATENING CONDITIONS WILL LAST
WELL INTO SATURDAY NIGHT ACROSS NORTHEAST IOWA AND INTO FAR NORTHWEST
ILLINOIS. THE ROUTE 20 CORRIDOR CAN EXPECT 10 TO 16 INCHES OF SNOW
ACCUMULATION BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON.

SOME WHITEOUT AND NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR DOWN TO THE
INTERSTATE 80 CORRIDOR BY TONIGHT. SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF
6 TO 12 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON ALONG AN AXIS FROM
IOWA CITY...TO CLINTON AND STERLING. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 7
INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE
INTERSTATE 80 CORRIDOR...DOWN TO A FAIRFIELD TO MONMOUTH LINE.

SOUTH OF A FAIRFIELD...TO MONMOUTH LINE...FREEZING RAIN WITH ICE
ACCUMULATION UP TO A TENTH OF AN INCH TODAY MAY CAUSE SOME SLICK
SPOTS AND HAZARDOUS TRAVEL. FAR SOUTHEAST IOWA...NORTHEAST MISSOURI
AND PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS MAY RECEIVE UP TO AN INCH OF
SNOW TONIGHT. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THESE AREAS
FOR TODAY FOR THE FREEZING RAIN...SLEET AND LIGHT ICE ACCUMULATIONS.

A BLIZZARD WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE HIGHWAY 20 CORRIDOR TODAY AND
TONIGHT. A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY
FOR ICE AND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS COMBINED WITH STRONG WINDS...ROUGHLY
FROM MARENGO TO STERLING...THEN EXTENDING SOUTHWARD TO A FAIRFIELD TO
MONMOUTH LINE. SEE LOCAL WINTER WEATHER PRODUCTS FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION.

WIDESPREAD ONE TO TWO INCH LIQUID AMOUNTS FALLING ON PARTIALLY FROZEN
GROUND PLUS THICK ICE ON AREA RIVERS WILL CREATE A SITUATION
FAVORABLE FOR FLOODING AND POSSIBLY FLASH FLOODING. A FLOOD WATCH IS
IN EFFECT FROM JUST NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE 80 CORRIDOR...THEN
EXTENDING SOUTH ACROSS THE REST OF SOUTHEAST IOWA...NORTHEAST
MISSOURI AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. INDIVIDUALS SHOULD MONITOR THIS
SITUATION FOR FURTHER UPDATES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT.  ANY ICE AND
SNOW REPORTS THIS WEEKEND DURING THE EVENT WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

12/NICHOLS

In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 24, 7:06 AM CST, 39 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
706 AM CST SAT FEB 24 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0658 AM     FREEZING RAIN    WEST POINT              40.72N 91.45W
02/24/2007  M0.13 INCH       LEE                IA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            1/8 INCH ICE ACCUMULATION. A STEADY FREEZING RAIN
            CURRENTLY FALLING.

&&

JH2

Local storm report, Feb 24, 7:22 AM CST, 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
722 AM CST SAT FEB 24 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0721 AM     FREEZING RAIN    WHAT CHEER              41.40N 92.35W
02/24/2007  M0.13 INCH       KEOKUK             IA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            1/8 INCH ICE ACCUMULATION BUT STARTING TO MELT. A STEADY
            RAIN FALLING ALONG WITH SOME SLEET.

&&

JH2

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 ice storm, 2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Hancock

When: February 24, 7:45 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
Where: Hancock forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.404, -91.165 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, McDonough

When: February 24, 8:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where: McDonough forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.456, -90.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Henderson

When: February 24, 9:00 AM CST to 8:45 PM CST
Where: Henderson forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.818, -90.925 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Spotters in Oquawka reported many trees and power lines down in town and throughout the county.

Ice Storm, Mercer

When: February 24, 9:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $965,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 41.205, -90.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A direct death occurred due to the ice storm when a 70 year old male in rural Joy, Illinois was struck by an ice-laden tree branch that fell on him. He was clearing branches from his driveway during the ice storm on February 24 when the branch struck him on the head. He was initially transported to the hospital and released, but later readmitted and he died a month later on March 23, 2007.

Ice Storm, Warren

When: February 24, 9:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.849, -90.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Rock Island

When: February 24, 9:35 AM CST to 9:20 PM CST
Where: Rock Island forecast zone
Injuries: 0 direct, 1 indirect
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.467, -90.567 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An indirect injury occurred on February 27, when a 9 year old Silvis, Illinois female suffered an electric shock when she grabbed a power line downed from the ice storm. According to the Quad City Times newspaper, the line she grabbed was not live, but as she was pulling on it, the line crossed with a live wire and she was shocked. She was seriously injured, but weeks later was released from the hospital.

Ice Storm, Henry

When: February 24, 9:45 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Henry forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.353, -90.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Whiteside

When: February 24, 11:00 AM CST to February 25, 12:45 AM CST
Where: Whiteside forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.756, -89.914 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Carroll

When: February 24, 1:15 PM CST to February 25, 1:00 AM CST
Where: Carroll forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.069, -89.934 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jo Daviess

When: February 24, 2:00 PM CST to February 25, 2:00 AM CST
Where: Jo Daviess forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.366, -90.212 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Bureau

When: February 24, 2:20 PM CST to February 25, 12:30 AM CST
Where: Bureau forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.404, -89.529 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A spotter reported 1.2 inches of ice accumulation in Princeton. Trees and power lines down blocking roads.

Ice Storm, Putnam

When: February 24, 2:20 PM CST to February 25, 12:30 AM CST
Where: Putnam forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 41.205, -89.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One inch ice accumulation reported by emergency manager in McNabb.

Winter Storm, Stephenson

When: February 24, 3:45 PM CST to February 25, 2:15 AM CST
Where: Stephenson forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.352, -89.662 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A spotter measured 5.5 inches of snow.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Ice Storm, Mercer	2007-03-23	70	Male	Under Tree	Direct

What these are

Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.
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

Every storm in Illinois in 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, February 2007

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: 15961, 15965, 15962, 15966, 15970, 15968, 15963, 15972, 15960, 15964, 15959, 15967, 15969.