A storm system tracking from Texas eastward across the Gulf States, spread light snow into central Illinois on February 5th. Accumulations generally ranged form 1 to 3 inches, but increased to as much as 4 inches across east-central Illinois from Champaign-Urbana to Danville and Paris.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 storm system tracking from Texas eastward across the Gulf States, spread light snow into central Illinois on February 5th. Accumulations generally ranged form 1 to 3 inches, but increased to as much as 4 inches across east-central Illinois from Champaign-Urbana to Danville and Paris. As a result of snow-covered roads, 4 people were killed in traffic accidents.
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 Feb 4, 11:15 PM CST, 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 1115 PM CST THU FEB 4 2010 .UPDATE... ISSUED 1035 PM CST THU FEB 4 2010 04Z RUC SOUNDING FORECASTS INDICATE THAT PRECIPITATION TYPES IN THE SOUTHEAST WILL BE PREDOMINANTLY RAIN AT LEAST FOR MOST OF TONIGHT. IN ADDITION...WARM ADVECTION FURTHER NORTH TOWARD SPRINGFIELD AND DECATUR IS PREVENTING THE LOW LEVEL WARM LAYER FROM WET-BULBING DOWN ENOUGH TO PREVENT THE FORMATION OF SLEET ALONG WITH THE SNOW OR RAIN. THERE HAS BEEN RECENT REPORTS OF SLEET TO THE SOUTH OF SPRINGFIELD...SO WILL UPDATE THE FORECASTS TO REFLECT A MIXTURE ALONG THE SOUTHWESTERN TIER OF COUNTIES. 04 && .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 830 PM CST THU FEB 4 2010 WEATHER UNFOLDING PRETTY MUCH ON SCHEDULE THIS EVENING. PRECIP HAS PROGRESSED TO A KIRKSVILLE-ST. LOUIS-FLORA LINE AND IS MOVING NORTH. CURRENT TIMING HAS SNOW COMING INTO THE SPRINGFIELD AREA AROUND MIDNIGHT...THEN OVERSPREAD THE ENTIRE AREA BEFORE DAWN. THE 00Z LINCOLN SOUNDING SHOWS A LARGE AREA OF DRY AIR ABOUR 8K FT THICK TO OVERCOME BEFORE PRECIPITATION CAN BEGIN. ST. LOUIS HAS SEEN A MIXTURE OF PRECIPITATION TYPES...AND A RAIN/SNOW MIX STILL LOOKS LIKELY FOR INTERSTATE 70 AND POINTS SOUTH. WILL CONTINUE THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY AS IS AND UPDATE THE PRODUCT BEFORE 9 PM. OVERALL FORECAST ON TRACK AND EXPECT NO UPDATES THROUGH MIDNIGHT. 04 && .AVIATION... ISSUED 1115 PM CST THU FEB 4 2010 PCPN SHIELD HAS PROGRESSED TO A UIN-SPI-MTO LN AND CONTS TO MOVE NWD. WARM ADVECTION IN THE LOWEST 3K FT HAS ALLOWED SOME SLEET TO DVLP ALG WITH THE SNOW AND RAIN. WL INDICATE MORE A MIXTURE OF PCPN FOR THE FIRST COUPLE OF HRS OF THE SPI/DEC TAFS...WITH MAINLY SNOW FURTHER N/E TWD PIA/BMI/CMI. HEAVIEST SNOW EXPCTD 17Z-21Z FRI AS A VORT MAX OVR KS MOVES JUST S OF THE AREA AND THE SFC LOW MAKES ITS CLOSEST PASS JUST SE OF THE OH RVR. AFT 21Z...ELY WNDS WL BCM NELY WITH INCRSG GUSTS ABV 30 KT AT TIMES BEHIND THE SFC LOW. ALTHOUGH THE SNOW SHOULD BE DCRSG IN INTENSITY AFT 21Z...IT WL LKLY LAST THRU 06Z SAT. 04 && .PREV DISCUSSION... ISSUED 314 PM CST THU FEB 4 2010 BOTH GFS AND NAM SEEM IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH OVERALL PATTERN AND EXPECTED SFC FEATURES NEXT 84HRS. ONLY DIFFERENCE SEEN IS TIMING OF ONSET OF PCPN TONIGHT WITH THE NEXT SYSTEM MOVING INTO THE AREA. WITH DRY EASTERLY FLOW CURRENTLY...PREFER THE LATER START OF THE NAM OVER THE EARLIER GFS. MAIN CONCERN IN THE SHORT TERM IS THE WINTER SYSTEM EXPECTED TO IMPACT THE AREA LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TOMORROW AND INTO LATE TOMORROW NIGHT. THE LONG TERM MODELS APPEAR TO BE IN AGREEMENT BUT WILL FOLLOW THE SLOWER SOLUTION...WHICH HAS BEEN THE TREND OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS. MAIN CONCERN DURING THIS PERIOD IS ANOTHER WINTER SYSTEM EXPECTED TO DROP INTO THE REGION FOR MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY AND THEN THE COLDER WEATHER FOLLOWING. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT A WINTER WEATHER SYSTEM IS CONTINUING TO MATERIALIZE OVER THE CENTRAL US AND WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK. PCPN SHOULD BEGIN AFTER MIDNIGHT ACROSS THE AREA BUT COULD START BEFORE MIDNIGHT IN THE SOUTH. EASTERLY FLOW HAS BROUGHT SOME DRIER AIR INTO THE LOWER LEVELS AND THE INITIAL PCPN WILL GO TO MOISTENING UP THAT LAYER FIRST...HENCE THE LATER START OF THE PCPN. MODEL FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATE PCPN IN THE SOUTHEAST COULD START AS RAIN AND THEN BECOME MIXED WITH SNOW DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. REMAINDER OF THE AREA WILL SEE ALL SNOW AS IT STARTS. ACCUMULATIONS OF AROUND AN INCH AREA POSSIBLE BY MORNING OVER THE CENTRAL PART OF THE AREA. AS THE SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE AREA...THE STRONGER DYNAMICS WILL MOVE THROUGH CENTRAL IL TOMORROW AND MOST AREAS CAN EXPECT ACCUMULATIONS OF 2.5 TO 3.5 INCHES BEFORE SUNSET. THE SYSTEM WILL BEGIN TO PUSH OFF TO THE EAST...BUT THE UPPER LVL TROUGH WILL LIKELY STILL BE SITTING OVER EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA. SO ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL OF AROUND AN INCH IS POSSIBLE FOR TOMORROW EVENING. THE SNOWFALL SHOULD TAPER OFF AFTER MIDNIGHT TOMORROW NIGHT...LEAVING ACCUMULATIONS OF 3-5 INCHES ACROSS THE AREA. THE CORRIDOR OF HEAVIEST SNOW WILL BE ALONG I-72 WILL LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. THE SOUTHEASTERN CWA AMOUNTS ARE TRICKY GIVEN THE PCPN BEING MIXED WITH SNOW AT TIMES. HOWEVER THE BEST WAA...OMEGA AND SNOW GROWTH ZONE IS OVER THAT AREA TOMORROW. THE QUESTION IS HOW MUCH COOLING OR WARMING WILL BE SEEN IN THE COLUMN OF AIR. THEREFORE KEPT PCPN AS SNOW AND RAIN MIXED UNTIL TOMORROW NIGHT. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE AROUND 4 INCHES AND SHOULD BE QUITE HEAVY. SNOW RATIO USED WAS 10:1 THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD. GIVEN THE MARGINAL DYNAMICS AND 3-4G/KG OF MOISTURE ADVECTING INTO THE AREA...THIS 10:1 RATIO SEEMED REASONABLE. IF DYNAMICS APPEAR STRONGER...THEN SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL HAVE TO BE ADJUSTED UPWARDS. REMAINDER OF SHORT TERM WILL BE DRY AS BRIEF HIGH PRSS BUILDS INTO THE REGION FOR THE WEEKEND. TEMPS THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL BE AROUND NORMAL OR JUST BELOW NORMAL FOR FEB. GUIDANCE SEEMED REASONABLE FOR NOW. LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY ANOTHER WEATHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK AND EXTENDED MODELS APPEAR TO BE MAINTAINING CONTINUITY WITH IT. THIS NEXT SYSTEM APPEARS TO BE A COMBINATION OF STUFF GOING ON IN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN STREAMS. SO SHOULD BE MOISTURE AND PLENTY OF DYNAMICS TO SUPPORT MORE SNOWFALL FOR NEXT WEEK. SO HAVE INCREASED POPS AND EXPANDED THE TIME PERIOD COVERED. SNOW IS THEN EXPECTED FOR MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY WITH DRY WEATHER FOR TUE NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. ANOTHER SURGE OF COLD AIR WILL DROP IN BEHIND THIS SYSTEM AND PUT TEMPS BELOW NORMAL FOR NEXT WEEK. MEX GUIDANCE LOOKS REASONABLE WITH THIS. AUTEN && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 AM CST SATURDAY FOR ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 313 PM CST THU FEB 4 2010 ILZ027>031-036>038-040-041-051200- FULTON-KNOX-MARSHALL-MASON-MCLEAN-PEORIA-SCHUYLER-STARK-TAZEWELL- WOODFORD- 313 PM CST THU FEB 4 2010 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 AM CST SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT AS A STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES THE AREA FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS BY SUNRISE FRIDAY WILL BE A HALF TO 1 INCH. FOR INTERESTS ALONG THE ILLINOIS RIVER...FLOODING WILL CONTINUE FROM HAVANA TO BEARDSTOWN THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...ALTHOUGH RIVER LEVELS WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY FALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY SNOW WILL CONTINUE FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY NIGHT BEFORE TAPERING OFF TO FLURRIES SATURDAY MORNING. ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES WILL OCCUR...FOR A STORM TOTAL OF BETWEEN 2 AND 4 INCHES BY FRIDAY EVENING. NORTHEAST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 10 TO 20 MPH DURING FRIDAY AND CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY...WITH OCCASIONAL HIGHER GUSTS...WHICH WILL PRODUCE SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IN OPEN AREAS. THERE WILL BE ANOTHER CHANCE FOR SNOW LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. HOWEVER... SNOWFALL REPORTS FROM OUR COOP AND MESONET NETWORKS LATE TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING WILL BE APPRECIATED. ILZ042>057-061>063-051200- CASS-CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-CLARK-COLES-CUMBERLAND-DE WITT-DOUGLAS- EDGAR-LOGAN-MACON-MENARD-MORGAN-MOULTRIE-PIATT-SANGAMON-SCOTT- SHELBY-VERMILION- 313 PM CST THU FEB 4 2010 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 AM CST SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT AS A STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES THE AREA FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. ACCUMULATIONS BY DAWN FRIDAY WILL BE AROUND ONE INCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY SNOW WILL CONTINUE FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY NIGHT BEFORE TAPERING OFF TO FLURRIES SATURDAY MORNING. ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 4 INCHES WILL OCCUR...FOR A STORM TOTAL OF BETWEEN 4 AND 5 INCHES BY MIDNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE FROM I-72 SOUTH TO I-70. NORTHEAST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 10 TO 20 MPH DURING FRIDAY AND CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY...WITH OCCASIONAL HIGHER GUSTS...WHICH WILL PRODUCE SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IN OPEN AREAS. THERE WILL BE ANOTHER CHANCE FOR SNOW LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. HOWEVER... SNOWFALL REPORTS FROM OUR COOP AND MESONET NETWORKS LATE TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING WILL BE APPRECIATED. ILZ066>068-071>073-051200- CLAY-CRAWFORD-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-RICHLAND- 313 PM CST THU FEB 4 2010 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 AM CST SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT RAIN AND SNOW IS EXPECTED TO OVERSPREAD THE AREA AFTER 9 PM THIS EVENING AS A STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. ANY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS BY FRIDAY MORNING SHOULD BE LESS THAN 1 INCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW WILL CONTINUE DURING THE DAY FRIDAY BEFORE CHANGING OVER TO ALL SNOW BY FRIDAY EVENING. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL RANGE FROM 4 TO 5 INCHES BY MIDNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT...WITH THE HEAVIER TOTALS AFFECTING AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF I-70. THE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO TAPER OFF TO FLURRIES LATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AS THE STORM SYSTEM PUSHES WELL EAST OF THE AREA. THERE WILL BE ANOTHER CHANCE FOR SNOW LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. HOWEVER... SNOWFALL REPORTS FROM OUR COOP AND MESONET NETWORKS LATE TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING WILL BE APPRECIATED. && THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGIC AND CLIMATE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT... HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/LINCOLN. THIS ADDRESS IS ALL IN LOWER CASE. KH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
One to two inches of snow across Christian County caused area roadways to become slick and hazardous. A 26-year old man from Taylorville was killed when the vehicle he was riding in slid off an icy road east of Kincaid.
Two to three inches of snow across McLean County caused area roadways to become slick and hazardous. A 27-year old woman was killed when the vehicle she was riding in collided with another vehicle just east of Gridley. Numerous other minor traffic accidents were also reported across the county.
Three to four inches of snow across Champaign County caused area roadways to become slick and hazardous. A 27-year old woman was killed when the vehicle she was riding in crossed the median on I-74 near Mahomet and collided with an oncoming semi truck. In addition, a 16-year old woman was killed when the vehicle she was driving slid off County Road 400N just northeast of Pesotum.
One to three inches of snow across Peoria County caused area roadways to become slick and hazardous. As a result, numerous traffic accidents were reported.
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, Christian | 2010-02-05 | 26 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Winter Weather, McLean | 2010-02-05 | 27 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Winter Weather, Champaign | 2010-02-05 | 27 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Winter Weather, Champaign | 2010-02-05 | 16 | Female | 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, February 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: 215883, 215884, 215885, 215886.