A winter storm brought between 1 and 3 inches of snow to areas north of the I-70 corridor on December 16th. where numerous traffic accidents were reported.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS ILX wrote it up.
A winter storm brought between 1 and 3 inches of snow to areas north of the I-70 corridor on December 16th. Further south, patchy freezing drizzle created icy road conditions south of I-70...where numerous traffic accidents were reported.
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 Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 16, 5:37 AM CST, 2 hours 23 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 537 AM CST TUE DEC 16 2008 .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 312 AM CST TUE DEC 16 2008 MAJOR HIGH PRESSURE OVER MUCH OF THE MIDWEST AND THE PLAINS STATES TODAY AS SWRLY FLOW STREAKS THE JET FROM THE DESERT SW TO THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. ANOTHER DISTURBANCE IS ON ITS WAY FOR TODAY...BRINGING PLENTY OF SNOW TO THE REGION. STORM TOTALS FORECAST TO RANGE FROM AROUND AN INCH SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70...TO MORE THAN FOUR INCHES NW OF THE ILLINOIS RIVER VALLEY. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF I 72. THIS IS THE MAIN CONCERN FOR THIS FORECAST...WITH ANOTHER SYSTEM QUICKLY ON ITS HEELS FOR THURSDAY NIGHT. MODELS CONTINUE TO BE PROBLEMATIC WITH TIMING AND CONSISTENCY. FORECAST IS A BLEND OF NAM/WRF IN THE SHORT TERM...AND THE ECMWF IN THE LONGER TERM...AS IT HAS BEEN. SHORT TERM...TODAY AND TONIGHT... SNOW IS THE MAIN ISSUE FOR TODAY. WAVE MOVING THROUGH WILL HAPPEN TO HAVE ASSISTED LIFT SYNOPTICALLY FROM THE RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF THE 150KT JET CORE THAT IS CURRENTLY MOVING OVER NRN ILLINOIS. ALTHOUGH THIS WILL BE AN EFFICIENT PRECIP MAKER...THE BEST SNOW WILL BE RELATIVELY SHORT LIVED...WITH THE MAX PRECIP RATES OCCURRING AFTER 18Z. WITH AN ALREADY FROZEN GROUND...SNOW WILL HAVE VERY LITTLE PROBLEM STICKING. BEST LIFT TO THE NORTH...AND TAPERING BACK TO THE SE. ADVISORY CRITERIA LIKELY TO GET HIT FOR THE NRN TWO THIRDS OF ILX. SNOW MOISTURE RATIOS TO BE MORE ALONG THE LINES OF 15 0R 17 TO 1... SO RATHER FLUFFY AND LIGHT EXPECTED. WILL BE CONTINUING INTO THE EVENING. AFTER SUNSET...THE PRECIP SHOULD DROP OFF QUICKLY...ALSO MIX IN SOME DRIER AIR ALOFT...ROBBING THE PROCESSES OF ICE CRYSTALS AND GLAZING OVER THE SFC WITH FZRA AND FZDL. LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... BRIEF RESPITE ON WEDNESDAY UNTIL ANOTHER WAVE MOVES UP FROM THE DESERT SW INTO THE MIDWEST. PREVIOUSLY MAJOR DIFFERENCES WITH THIS SYSTEM AS THE GFS WAS FAR MORE EXPLOSIVE WITH THE DEVELOPMENT...WIDESPREAD AND MORE INTENSE. BOTH MORE ON TRACK WITH TIMING...ALIGNING WELL WITH THE ECMWF AND SOMEWHAT WARMER...AND THE PRECIP TYPE TROUBLE ZONE IN THE MIDWEST IS PARKED RIGHT OVER CENTRAL ILLINOIS...RESULTING IN A WINTRY MIX YET AGAIN. AT THIS POINT...THERE ARE VERY FEW DAYS IN THE FORECAST WITHOUT A CHANCE FOR PRECIP WITH SEVERAL WAVES MOVING OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST ACROSS THE REGION COLLIDING WITH VERY COLD SURFACE AIR DRAINING INTO THE MIDWEST FROM CENTRAL CANADA. FORECAST VERY DYNAMIC WITH MANY ADJUSTMENTS TO PRECIP...ESPECIALLY FOR THE THURSDAY NIGHT SYSTEM... LIKELY THROUGH THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. HJS && .AVIATION... ISSUED 537 AM CST TUE DEC 16 2008 QUICK MOVING WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL STREAK NORTHEAST ACROSS THE TERMINALS TODAY...PROVIDING A PERIOD OF ACCUMULATING SNOWS. THE INITIAL VFR CONDITIONS WILL RAPIDLY DEGRADE LATER THIS MORNING AS SNOWS BEGIN TO BREAK OUT. THE HEAVIEST SNOWS AND IFR CONDITIONS WILL MAINLY BE CONFINED TO THE AFTERNOON HOURS...WITH THE PRECIPITATION TAPERING OFF THIS EVENING. AS THE SNOWS TAPERS OFF... SOME SLEET OR FREEZING DRIZZLE IS POSSIBLE BUT NOT EXPECTED TO BE WIDESPREAD. ON THE PLUS SIDE...DESPITE THE DEGRADED VSBYS/CIGS IN THE SNOW...THE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BE RATHER LIGHT AND SHOULD NOT BE PROBLEMATIC TODAY. BAK && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM NOON TODAY TO MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR ILZ027>031-036>038-040>053. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 546 AM CST TUE DEC 16 2008 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>053-171200- CASS-CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-DE WITT-FULTON-KNOX-LOGAN-MACON-MARSHALL- MASON-MCLEAN-MENARD-MORGAN-PEORIA-PIATT-SANGAMON-SCHUYLER-SCOTT- STARK-TAZEWELL-VERMILION-WOODFORD- 546 AM CST TUE DEC 16 2008 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STORM SYSTEM WILL SPREAD SNOW ACROSS THE AREA TODAY...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR 2 TO 4 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION. THE HEAVIEST SNOWS SHOULD FALL DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. THE SNOW WILL TAPER OFF TO FREEZING DRIZZLE THIS EVENING BEFORE ENDING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO IMPACT THE AREA ON THURSDAY... BRINGING FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TONIGHT. ILZ054>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-171200- CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-DOUGLAS-EDGAR-EFFINGHAM- JASPER-LAWRENCE-MOULTRIE-RICHLAND-SHELBY- 546 AM CST TUE DEC 16 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STORM SYSTEM WILL SPREAD SNOW ACROSS THE AREA TODAY...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR 1 TO 2 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION. THE HEAVIEST SNOWS SHOULD FALL DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. THE SNOW MAY BRIEFLY CHANGE TO SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN THIS EVENING BEFORE ENDING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO IMPACT THE AREA ON THURSDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF FREEZING RAIN OR SNOW TO THE REGION EARLY THURSDAY...BEFORE CHANGING TO RAIN. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TONIGHT. BAK
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A man was killed when the vehicle he was driving slid into a retention pond. The accident happened at the chemical plant complex in Mapleton.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather, Peoria | 2008-12-16 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, December 2008
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: 143540.