A weather disturbance tracked from the Plains through central Illinois on December 15th and 16th, spreading a mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain across the area. with mainly freezing rain reported further south.
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.
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 weather disturbance tracked from the Plains through central Illinois on December 15th and 16th, spreading a mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain across the area. Snowfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches were reported along and northeast of the I-74 corridor...with mainly freezing rain reported further south. Ice accumulations were less than one quarter of an inch. Despite the light nature of the wintery precipitation, several traffic accidents were reported around the area, including one that killed a man in rural Crawford County.
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 15, 6:00 PM CST, 0 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 600 PM CST WED DEC 15 2010 .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 305 PM CST WED DEC 15 2010 SOMEWHAT COMPLEX FORECAST CONTINUES TO TAKE HOLD OF THE AREA TONIGHT AND INTO TOMORROW...THAT WILL LIKELY SEE ADVISORY LEVEL SNOW GENERALLY NORTH AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 74...WHILE AREAS IN THE SOUTHERN TIER OF COUNTIES WILL SEE A MIX BEFORE TURNING OVER TO ALL SNOW. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT... HIGH PRESSURE SPANNING THE GREAT LAKES CONTINUES TO SLOWLY DRIFT EAST AS AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ACROSS THE PLAINS CONTINUES TO TAKE SHAPE AND LIFT TO THE EAST-NORTHEAST. RADAR RETURNS ACROSS THE AREA CONTINUE TO LOOK IMPRESSIVE BUT SURFACE OBSERVATIONS PAINT A DIFFERENT AND MUCH DRIER PICTURE. FOR THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON FLURRIES WILL CONTINUE AND GRADUALLY INCREASE FROM WEST TO EAST AND INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. PRESENT SNOW BAND ACROSS WATERLOO/DUBUQUE/CEDAR RAPIDS IS SLOWLY MOVING EAST. FOR THE NORTHERN TIER OF COUNTIES...GENERALLY NORTH OF A LINE WEST TO EAST THROUGH CHAMPAIGN...WILL SEE ALL SNOW OVERNIGHT...WITH TOTALS RANGING IN THE 3 TO 5 INCH RANGE...GENERALLY HIGHEST NORTH AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 74. AREAS TO THE SOUTH WILL BE IN THE 1 TO 3 INCH RANGE. BEST H85 TO H70 FGEN AND FN DIVERGENCE RUNS THE LINE GENERALLY FROM MOLINE THROUGH PONTIAC...AND IS COINCIDENT WITH THE DGZ AND MID LEVEL OMEGA FIELD. ALL SAID...DID ADD KNOX...PEORIA AND TAZWELL COUNTIES TO THE GOING SNOWFALL WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. PRESENTLY NOT EXPECTING THOSE THREE COUNTY COUNTIES TO REACH ADVISORY ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTY...AS THERE WILL LIKELY BE A SHARP GRADIENT BETWEEN THE HIGHEST SNOWS IN THE NORTHEAST AND THE GENERAL 1 TO 3 INCHES. FOR AREAS DOWN TO THE SOUTH...THE FORECAST GETS...SLOPPY. SURFACE TEMPERATURES REMAIN BELOW FREEZING AND WILL REMAIN SO THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. FAIRLY POTENT MID LEVEL WARMING WILL BRING THE H85 TEMPS FROM SUB FREEZING TO AROUND THE +2 TO 3 RANGE OVERNIGHT TONIGHT...AND THAT WARM LAYER WILL LIKELY BE 3 TO 5 KFT DEEP. AS THE PRECIP FORMS AND FALLS AS RAIN...IT WILL REFREEZE ONCE IT GETS TO THE SURFACE. EXPECT THIS TO CONTINUE OVERNIGHT AND INTO THE MORNING HOURS BEFORE GRADUALLY CHANGING OVER TO LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA. NO CHANGE IN ICE ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS THE SOUTH...WITH THE OVERALL TOTALS REMAINING BELOW A QUARTER OF AN INCH. BY THE MORNING...THE MAJORITY OF THE SYSTEM SHOULD HAVE PULLED EAST OF THE AREA...WITH ONLY LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS REMAINING THOUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON. SHEA FOR FRIDAY THROUGH THE EXTENDED... HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE PLAINS BUILDS INTO THE AREA FRIDAY AND HANGS AROUND THROUGH THE WEEKEND. MAIN QUESTION FOR THIS PERIOD WILL BE TEMPERATURES. IF SKIES CLEAR OUT AND WINDS DROP OFF...LOWS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY MORNING COULD DROP INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA...ESPECIALLY WITH THE FRESH SNOW...THOUGH FOR NOW THESE COLDEST VALUES ARE RESTRICTED TO THE NORTHERN HALF. BY MONDAY THE GFS/ECMWF/GEM ALL SHOW SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF A NEW LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DEVELOPING IN RESPONSE TO SHORTWAVE ENERGY MOVING THROUGH SPLIT FLOW ALOFT. THE GEM ACTUALLY BRINGS A WARM ADVECTION BAND OF SNOW THROUGH THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT...BUT OUR CURRENT FORECAST LEANS MORE TOWARD THE SLOWER GFS/ECMWF SOLUTIONS WHICH DELAY THIS UNTIL DAYTIME MONDAY THEN BRING A COLD FRONT THROUGH MONDAY EVENING. DESPITE THE THREAT OF MORE SNOW...THE UPSIDE WILL BE SLIGHTLY MILDER TEMPERATURES TO START THE WORK WEEK BEFORE HIGH PRESSURE AND COOLER AIR ARRIVE BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. LENNING && .AVIATION... ISSUED 600 PM CST WED DEC 15 2010...FOR THE 00Z TAFS RADAR IMAGES SHOW VIRGA IN PROCESS ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA. SOME LIGHT SNOW REPORTS HAVE FINALLY STARTED COMING IN FOR THE FAR NORTHERN CWA...NW OF PEORIA. SO THE BOUNDARY LAYER IS SATURATING WITH TIME. WE EXPECT SNOW TO DEVELOP BY 03-04Z FOR PIA/BMI AND EXPAND EAST AND SOUTH BY MIDNIGHT TO SPI/DEC/CMI. FORECAST SOUNDINGS CONTINUE TO INDICATE A WARM LAYER ALOFT ADVANCING NORTH INTO OUR AREA AROUND 06Z. SO FZRA AND GLAZING WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR SPI/DEC FROM 06Z TO 12-14Z. ONCE WE LOSE OUR ICE CRYSTALS ALOFT...FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL BE REAL POSSIBILITY IN THE WAKE OF THE MEASURABLE SNOW/FZRA. IFR CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY TO DOMINATE ONCE THE SNOW/FZRA BEGINS. SHIMON && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 8 AM CST THURSDAY FOR ILZ028-030- 031-038-043>046-051>057-061>063-066>068-071>073. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 406 PM CST WED DEC 15 2010 ILZ027>031-037-038-045-046-162215- CHAMPAIGN-KNOX-MARSHALL-MCLEAN-PEORIA-STARK-TAZEWELL-VERMILION- WOODFORD- 406 PM CST WED DEC 15 2010 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM CST THURSDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW THIS EVENING WITH A STEADIER SNOWFALL EXPECTED OVERNIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF BETWEEN 2 AND 3 INCHES WILL BE LIKELY...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS BY THURSDAY MORNING GENERALLY NORTH AND EAST OF I-74. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY SOME VERY LIGHT SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE THURSDAY MORNING...BUT IT APPEARS THE MAJORITY OF ANY ACCUMULATING SNOWS WILL SHIFT OFF TO OUR EAST BY MID-MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE REQUIRED...HOWEVER...REPORTS OF SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED. ILZ043-044-049>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-162215- CHRISTIAN-CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-DE WITT-DOUGLAS- EDGAR-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-MACON-MORGAN-MOULTRIE-PIATT- RICHLAND-SANGAMON-SCOTT-SHELBY- 406 PM CST WED DEC 15 2010 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM CST THURSDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW THIS LATER THIS EVENING WITH A TRANSITION TO SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN EARLY THIS EVENING. ANY ICE ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN UNDER A QUARTER OF AN INCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THE MAJORITY OF THE STEADIER PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE MOVING OFF TO OUR EAST THURSDAY MORNING...HOWEVER...SOME LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE OR VERY LIGHT SNOW WILL OCCUR THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE MORNING HOURS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE REQUIRED...HOWEVER...ANY REPORTS OF SNOW...SLEET OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS TONIGHT WOULD BE APPRECIATED. ILZ036-040>042-047-048-162215- CASS-FULTON-LOGAN-MASON-MENARD-SCHUYLER- 406 PM CST WED DEC 15 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL BRING A PERIOD OF LIGHT SNOW TO THE AREA STARTING LATER THIS EVENING...AND ESPECIALLY OVERNIGHT. BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE BY THURSDAY MORNING...WITH THE HIGHER AMOUNTS NORTH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THE MAJORITY OF THE STEADIER SNOWFALL SHOULD BE OFF TO OUR EAST THURSDAY MORNING...HOWEVER...SOME LINGERING VERY LIGHT SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE REQUIRED...HOWEVER...ANY REPORTS OF SNOW ACCUMULATIONS LATE TODAY AND ESPECIALLY TONIGHT WOULD BE APPRECIATED. SHEA
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A light accumulation of ice created hazardous driving conditions across Crawford County. A man was killed during the early morning hours of December 17th when he lost control of his pickup truck on a rural road just west of Robinson.
A light accumulation of snow and ice created hazardous driving conditions across Edgar County. Numerous traffic accidents were reported on December 16th, including one on I-70 near the Indiana border that shut the highway down for about an hour.
Numerous traffic accidents were reported across Morgan County on December 16th, as a result of icy road conditions.
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, Crawford | 2010-12-17 | 47 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, December 2010
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: 267343, 267344, 267345.