Heavy rains of 1 to 2 inches fell across much of western and northwest Illinois on February 17, 2008. This caused some flooding of farm fields and creeks, and ditches were full.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 DVN wrote it up.
Heavy rains of 1 to 2 inches fell across much of western and northwest Illinois on February 17, 2008. This caused some flooding of farm fields and creeks, and ditches were full. A portion of Interstate 280 near Moline, Illinois was closed due to a flash flood that covered the road. The flash flood occurred on Mill Creek and was caused by an ice jam.
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 17, 3:24 AM CST, 5 hours 19 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
324 AM CST SUN FEB 17 2008
.SYNOPSIS...
THE 00Z ANALYSIS SHOWED A COMPLICATED H5 FLOW PATTERN. THE UPPER
LOW WAS OVER W TEXAS WITH 180M HEIGHT FALLS OVER THE BIG BEND
REGION. SEVERAL S/WS WERE LINED UP UPSTREAM OF THE W TEXAS LOW.
THE NRN MOST S/W OVER MONTANA LOOKED QUITE VIGOROUS WITH 120M HGT
FALLS OVER NORTH DAKOTA. H8 MOISTURE FEED AHEAD OF THE SRN STREAM
LOW WAS IMPRESSIVE FOR LATE WINTER. H8 DEWPOINTS OF 10C TO 16C
WERE FEEDING NORTH THROUGH ERN TX AND OK. AS OF 06Z THE SURFACE
LOW WAS OVER NERN OK WITH A LARGE PCPN SHIELD AS FAR N AS CENTRAL
IA AND NRN IL. AFTER A BRIEF PERIOD OF FZRA OVER THE SRN AND CNTRL
CWA LATE SATURDAY EVENING...MOST OF THE PCPN HAD CHANGED BACK TO
RAIN WITH SURFACE TEMPS IN THE MID 30S AND DEWPOINTS AOA 32. TEMPS
OVER THE NRN COUNTIES ROUGHLY N OF A KFEP...KIOW...KFFL LINE WERE
AOB 32 WITH LIGHT TO MODERATE FZRA OCCURRING AS OF 08Z.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
FIRST OF ALL NO CHANGES ARE PLANNED AS FAR AS THE HEADLINES ARE
CONCERNED. SO FAR THE STORM IS ON TRACK WITH PREVIOUS SHIFTS
FORECAST AND SEE NO NEED TO MAKE ANY DRASTIC CHANGES. AFTER
LOOKING HOW THE 00Z MODELS WERE VERIFYING AT 06Z...HAVE DECIDED TO
BASE THE FORECAST PIMARILY ON THE GFS SINCE IT HAD A BETTER HANDLE
ON THE LOCATION OF THE SURFACE LOW. THE SURFACE LOW IS PROGGED TO
TRACK NORTHEAST INTO WEST CENTRAL IL BY 18Z WITH THE H8 LOW MOVING
ALONG THE MS RIVER. THIS TRACK SUGGESTS THAT THE HEAVIEST PCPN
SHOULD OCCUR ALONG AND EAST OF THE RIVER WHICH CURRENT RADAR
IMAGES SUPPORT. TEMPS WILL BE WARM ENUF TO KEEP THE PCPN ALL RAIN
EXCEPT OVER THE NW ONE THIRD TO ONE FOURTH OF THE CWFA WHERE FZRA
WILL CONTINUE AS WINDS BACK TO THE NE REINFORCING THE COLDER AIR
AT THE SURFACE. WITH THE HEAVIEST RAINS STILL EXPECTED OVER THE
ERN CWFA THE FLOOD WATCH WILL CONTINUE. THIS AFTERNOON AS THE
SURFACE LOW MOVES INTO MI COLDER AIR WILL SURGE EAST ACROSS THE
AREA CHANGING THE FZRA/RA TO SNOW. AT THE SAME TIME THE DEF ZONE
WILL BECOME ESTABLISHED OVER ERN IA. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 6 TO 8
INCHES ARE STILL EXPECTED OVER THE NW FOURTH OF THE CWFA BY LATE
TONIGHT. HOWEVER...THE CHANGE OVER TO SNOW THIS MORNING WILL BE
CRITICAL TO THE OVERALL SNOW AMOUNTS. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL DROP
OFF RAPIDLY TO THE EAST WITH THE IL COUNTIES RECEIVING AN INCH OR
TWO. MODELS ARE STILL SHOWING VERY STRONG WINDS DEVELOPING THIS
AFTERNOON OVER THE AREA. WITH 6+ INCHES OF SNOW EXPECTED IN THE NW
THIS AREA COULD SEE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS FOR AWHILE LATE THIS
AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. FOR NOW WILL LET THE WINTER STORM
WARNING RIDE. THE DAY SHIFT WILL BE ABLE TO MONITOR THE STORM FOR
A FEW HOURS TO SEE HOW THE WIND AND SNOW ARE EVOLVING THEN MAKE
THE DECISION WHETHER TO UPGRADE OR NOT. STRONG WINDS AND BLOWING
SNOW WILL ALSO IMPACT AREAS TO THE EAST THIS EVENING BUT WITH
SNOWFALL AMOUNTS MUCH LESS THAN TO THE WEST...CONDITIONS ARE ONLY
EXPECTED TO MEET ADVISORY CRITERIA AT THE WORST. AFTER THIS
EVENING SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL LINGER THROUGH MONDAY AS H5
TROF AXIS SWINGS THROUGH THE CWFA. STRONG LOW LEVEL CAA THROUGH
MONDAY WILL KEEP TEMPS FROM RECOVERING MUCH DURING THE DAY AND
KEPT HIGHS A FEW DEGREES ABOVE THE EXPECTED MORNING LOWS. SURFACE
RIDGE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING
SUPPORTING TEMPS BELOW ZERO AGAIN FOR THE NRN THIRD OF THE CWFA
AND SINGLE DIGITS SOUTH. THE 00Z MODELS HAVE PUSHED THE MIDWEEK
SYSTEM FURTHER SOUTH...INTO THE SRN PLAINS. THEREFORE HAVE
DECREASED POPS DURING THE PERIOD AND STARTED TO TREND TEMPS DOWN
FOR WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THURSDAY AND FRIDAY THE GFS AND
ECMWF DIVERGE WITH THE GFS MOVING THE SRN PLAINS STORM EAST
THROUGH THE GULF COAST STATES. THE ECMWF ON THE OTHER HAND LIFTS
THE STORM NE OVER THE MID MS VALLEY. WITH THE UNCERTAINTY IN THE
MODEL PROGS HAVE LEFT THE PREVIOUS FORECAST INTACT WITH CHANCE
POPS FOR SNOW OVER MOST OF THE AREA THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.
...DLF...
&&
.AVIATION...
IFR TO LIFR CONDITIONS SHOULD PERSIST AT ALL SITES THROUGH AT LEAST
MON MRNG...WITH CIGS/VIS LIKELY LIFTING INTO MVFR RANGE THROUGH
MIDDAY MON. PRECIP HAS OVERSPREAD THE AREA...WITH RAIN AT KBRL/KMLI
AND FZRA AT KCID/KDBQ. PRECIP MAY CHANGE TO RAIN BRIEFLY THIS MRNG
AT KCID/KDBQ BEFORE CHANGEOVER TO SNOW BEGINS IN THE LATE MRNG/EARLY
AFTN...WITH CHANGE TO SNOW AT KMLI/KBRL BY MID-AFTN. WINDS WILL
BACK FROM SERLY TO NERLY THIS MRNG...THEN TO NWRLY IN THE LATE
MRNG/EARLY AFTN AS THE SFC LOW LIFTS NEWD ACROSS THE MS RIVER
VALLEY. NWLY WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20-30MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40
MPH...CREATING BLOWING SNOW OR NEAR-BLIZZARD CONDITIONS PARTICULARLY
AT KCID/KDBQ BUT POSSIBLY INTERMITTENTLY AT KMLI/KBRL AS WELL.
MAYES
&&
.DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IA...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR BENTON-
BUCHANAN-CEDAR-CLINTON-DELAWARE-DUBUQUE-IOWA-JACKSON-
JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-JONES-KEOKUK-LINN-VAN BUREN-WASHINGTON.
FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON FOR DES MOINES-HENRY IA-LEE.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR LOUISA-
MUSCATINE-SCOTT.
IL...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR CARROLL-JO
DAVIESS-STEPHENSON.
FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON FOR BUREAU-HANCOCK-HENDERSON-
HENRY IL-MCDONOUGH-MERCER-PUTNAM-ROCK ISLAND-WARREN-
WHITESIDE.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR HENRY IL-
MERCER-ROCK ISLAND-WHITESIDE.
MO...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR SCOTLAND.
FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON FOR CLARK.
&&
DLF/MAYESHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 452 AM CST SUN FEB 17 2008 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-181100- BUCHANAN-DELAWARE-DUBUQUE-BENTON-LINN-JONES-JACKSON-IOWA-JOHNSON- CEDAR-CLINTON-MUSCATINE-SCOTT-KEOKUK-WASHINGTON-LOUISA-JEFFERSON- HENRY IA-DES MOINES-VAN BUREN-LEE-JO DAVIESS-STEPHENSON-CARROLL- WHITESIDE-ROCK ISLAND-HENRY IL-BUREAU-PUTNAM-MERCER-HENDERSON- WARREN-HANCOCK-MCDONOUGH-SCOTLAND-CLARK- 452 AM CST SUN FEB 17 2008 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 STRONG WINTER STORM WILL MOVE NORTHEAST THROUGH MISSOURI AND NORTHWEST ILLINOIS TODAY. THE STORM WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD RAIN AND FREEZING RAIN OVER THE AREA THIS MORNING. THE FREEZING RAIN WILL BE LIMITED TO AREAS ROUGHLY NORTHWEST OF A FREEPORT...CEDAR RAPIDS...FAIRFIELD LINE. ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF A QUARTER TO A HALF INCH WILL BE POSSIBLE. PARTS OF SOUTHEAST IOWA AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS COULD ALSO HAVE A FEW THUNDERSTORMS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS THIS MORNING. RUNOFF FROM THE RAIN AND SNOW MELT COULD CAUSE SOME FLOODING. THE RAIN WILL CHANGE TO SNOW FROM LATE THIS MORNING INTO THIS AFTERNOON. SUBSTANTIAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED WEST OF A LINE FROM MEMPHIS MISSOURI THROUGH FREEPORT ILLINOIS. PARTS OF THIS AREA COULD SEE AS MUCH AS 6 TO 8 INCHES OF SNOW BY LATE THIS EVENING. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL DROP OFF RAPIDLY TO THE EAST. AMOUNTS OF 1 OR 2 INCHES ARE EXPECTED OVER WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE ALSO EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. NORTHWEST WINDS WILL BE INCREASING TO 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TOPPING 40 MPH AT TIMES. THE STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. THE STRONG WINDS...SNOWFALL AND BLOWING SNOW WILL CREATE NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING OVER PARTS OF NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST IOWA AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY ANOTHER SURGE OF ARCTIC AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA EARLY THIS WEEK. TEMPERATURES AROUND ZERO AND WIND CHILL BETWEEN -10 AND -20 ARE EXPECTED MONDAY NIGHT. ANOTHER WINTER STORM MAY MOVE THROUGH THE REGION FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT. BUT...SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CALL IN REPORTS OF RAIN...SNOW AND ICE AMOUNTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DURING THIS WINTER STORM.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
811 AM CST SUN FEB 17 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0811 AM HEAVY RAIN 1 WSW SHERRARD 41.31N 90.53W
02/17/2008 M1.10 INCH MERCER IL TRAINED SPOTTER
OVERNIGHT.
&&
MIKEZPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
813 AM CST SUN FEB 17 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0810 AM FREEZING RAIN W NORWAY 41.90N 91.93W
02/17/2008 M0.10 INCH BENTON IA TRAINED SPOTTER
0.54 LIQUID PRECIPITATION PRIOR TO THE FREEZING RAIN. NOW
SNOWING BIG FLAKES. ROADS ARE TOTALLY ICE COVERED.
&&
WEPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
815 AM CST SUN FEB 17 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0814 AM HEAVY RAIN LA HARPE 40.58N 90.97W
02/17/2008 M1.34 INCH HANCOCK IL CO-OP OBSERVER
&&
MIKEZPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
817 AM CST SUN FEB 17 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0816 AM FREEZING RAIN 6 NE VAN HORNE 42.08N 92.03W
02/17/2008 M0.20 INCH BENTON IA TRAINED SPOTTER
HAS SWITCHED TO SNOW.
&&
MIKEZPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
821 AM CST SUN FEB 17 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0818 AM FREEZING RAIN 3 NW MOUNT VERNON 41.95N 91.46W
02/17/2008 M0.10 INCH LINN IA TRAINED SPOTTER
FREEZING RAIN HAS NOW TURNED TO ALL SNOW.
&&
WEPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
831 AM CST SUN FEB 17 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0815 AM HEAVY RAIN NEW WINDSOR 41.20N 90.45W
02/17/2008 M1.05 INCH MERCER IL TRAINED SPOTTER
RAINFALL FROM OVERNIGHT UP TO 8 AM.
&&
12The Lincoln radar (KILX), 112 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:44 UTC.
3 heavy rain, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A spotter reported that Grind Stone Creek was approximately 2 feet out of its banks 2 miles southwest of Industry.
A spotter reported many flooded farm fields with area creeks and ditches running full near Industry.
A spotter reported Camp Creek covering Scott road at 1840th Street in Macomb.
A portion of Interstate 280 at mile marker 15 about 2 miles west of the Quad City International Airport was closed due to water covering the road. An ice jam on the eastbound bridge caused the water to rise rapidly on Mill Creek and flow across the freeway at the bridge approach. Water was flowing 9 inches deep over a 100 foot section of both the east and west bound lanes. A motorist ventured into the floodwaters but hydroplaned and lost control of his vehicle. No one was injured. The Illinois State Police closed the interstate and detoured traffic until 900 am on February 18 when the water finally receded.
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, February 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: 84183, 84184, 84185, 84196.