A stationary frontal boundary extending from southern Kentucky to northern Texas served as the focusing mechanism for an overrunning snow event across portions of central and southeast Illinois from the afternoon of December 15th through the evening of December 16th. Several waves of low pressure tracked along the boundary, bringing periods of wintry precipitation to the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 12 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 stationary frontal boundary extending from southern Kentucky to northern Texas served as the focusing mechanism for an overrunning snow event across portions of central and southeast Illinois from the afternoon of December 15th through the evening of December 16th. Several waves of low pressure tracked along the boundary, bringing periods of wintry precipitation to the area. Snow spread into central Illinois from southwest to northeast during the afternoon of December 15th, then continued through the evening before tapering off and temporarily coming to an end by the early morning of December 16th. As another wave moved along the front, a second round of snow developed during the afternoon of the 16th...eventually ending as a period of light freezing rain. Storm total snow accumulations were greatest just north of the I-70 corridor, where amounts of 6 to 9 inches were common from Shelbyville northeastward to Mattoon. Snowfall decreased further north, with 2 to 3 inches occurring along the I-74 corridor.
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, 11:41 AM CST, 1 hour 49 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lincoln IL 1141 AM CST Sun Dec 15 2019 .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 1010 AM CST Sun Dec 15 2019 Snow is expected to spread east from east central Missouri this afternoon into portions of central Illinois. The snow will spread over all of central Illinois this evening and overnight. A mixture with freezing rain will be possible in the southern sections, mainly along and south of Interstate 70. After sometime of a lull in the precipitaton on Monday, another episode of snow will move into the region Monday evening and overnight, ending on Tuesday. && .UPDATE... Issued at 1010 AM CST Sun Dec 15 2019 Upper air morning analysis combined with moisture channel satellite imagery shows jet axis of 170+ knots over the midwest from southeast CO over northern MO into IL. Shortwave over central NE to KS slowly evolving to the east, with the main upper trof axis back into the southern rockies. Morning 850mb displays significant low level southerly winds over AR into southern MO, causing good isentropic lift of moisture into the frontal zone. Expect area to continue to shift to the east and snow development to spread into region this afternoon. SPC mesoanalysis has good 850-750mb EPV over southern MO so banded heavier areas of pcpn will also be possible. 12z nam model just came in shows very little change from previous run with the main expected snow development to push from east central MO into south central IL in afternoon. . && .SHORT TERM...(Today through Monday night) ISSUED AT 402 AM CST Sun Dec 15 2019 Skies cleared out overnight, allowing temperatures to rapidly drop early this morning. Low temps needed touched to account for the lower values that were around the region at 07z. Otherwise, the big story for the forecast period is the storm system that will arrive today, bringing significant measurable snowfall to the region. A Low pressure system is developing in the Rockies this morning, lifting moisture northward from the Gulf of Mexico. This will continue to usher moisture to the region throughout today, and with the warm front lingering across southern Illinois, expecting wet weather to overspread the Midwest. Model agreement exists between all the synoptic and meso-scale models on arrival time of the system this afternoon into southwestern Illinois. This will then spread a thin band of snowfall across the state to the east. This is where the setup of significant snowfall is expected today, between the I-72 and I-70 corridors. Forecasting techniques call for 5 to 7 inches in most locations around this region, with the chance for some locations to report upwards of 8 inches. Although this will fall on the weekend, with slightly lower impacts, went ahead and issued a Winter Storm Warning for the mentioned area. Impacts could linger into Monday, as colder temperatures overnight will allow for some freezing or re-freeze of pavement surfaces. Along the southern tier of counties in the CWA and locations north of I-72, a Winter Weather Advisory has been issued. Expecting slightly lower amounts of total snowfall in the 2 to 4 inch range, with the possibility of up to 0.20 inches of ice in the southern CWA counties. One big concern in this forecast was the exact location of the freezing line, and where freezing rain/ice accumulation would develop today with just above freezing temps expected across the southern CWA. A lull in precip is expected Monday morning, with the northern CWA expecting to be done with accumulating snowfall. The deformation zone band of precip is expected to slide through the region Monday afternoon, bringing another chance for additional snowfall to locations in south central and southern Illinois. This will bring an additional inch of snowfall to the southeast CWA, then exit the region as the Low finally slides through the Tennessee Valley Monday night. Model discrepancy exists with the exact exiting of this system, with a few models indicating Monday evening/night, while a few others linger the system 6-12 hours longer. The main concerning timeframe appears to be the today through Monday morning, when a majority of the snowfall will occur. .LONG TERM...(Tuesday through Saturday) ISSUED AT 402 AM CST Sun Dec 15 2019 High pressure and northwesterly winds will shift into the region Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing the cold conditions back across the Midwest. Temperatures will be the main concern mid-week, as lows will fall into the teens. Wind chills will dip into the low single digits to near 0 Wednesday morning. As southwesterly winds return over the second half of this week, temperatures climb back to near 40 around the CWA. This warmer trend will continue into the weekend, possibly melting much of the snowfall across the region. Models hint at the return of wet weather at the end of the week into the start of next weekend, however at this time probability is low enough the no mention of any weather exists. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Monday afternoon) Issued at 1135 AM CST Sun Dec 15 2019 Radar mosiac loop and surface observations shows the area of snow developing in MO and advecting to the east. Models consistant with the observation trends that cigs lower to VFR in pcpn and then into MIVFR to IFR when the heavier pcpn moves in by late afternoon. This first wave of pcpn associated with the strong warm advection pattern tonight will produce IFR VSB in snow also into the morning hours. Progs move this wave through overnight, and so then the VSBs improve by sunrise to VFR, however with lingering moisture, cigs should remain in the IFR to low MVFR area through rest of period. && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until midnight CST Monday night for ILZ071>073. Winter Storm Warning until midnight CST Monday night for ILZ049>057-061>063-066>068. Winter Weather Advisory from 3 PM this afternoon to midnight CST Monday night for ILZ036>038-040>048. && UPDATE...Goetsch SYNOPSIS...Goetsch SHORT TERM...Baker LONG TERM...Baker AVIATION...Goetsch
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lincoln IL 1127 AM CST Sun Dec 15 2019 ILZ027>031-161200- Knox-Marshall-Peoria-Stark-Woodford- 1127 AM CST Sun Dec 15 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... Accumulating snow is expected this afternoon through tonight. 1 to 3 inches of snow will result in hazardous travel conditions. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... Additional light snow is possible Monday afternoon. Minor accumulations are possible. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be required. ILZ036>038-040>048-161200- Cass-Champaign-De Witt-Fulton-Logan-Mason-McLean-Menard-Piatt- Schuyler-Tazewell-Vermilion- 1127 AM CST Sun Dec 15 2019 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO MIDNIGHT CST MONDAY NIGHT... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central Illinois, east central Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... Accumulating snow is expected this afternoon through tonight. 2 to 4 inches of snow will result in hazardous travel conditions. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... Additional snow is possible Monday afternoon and evening. Minor accumulations are possible. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be required. ILZ049>057-061>063-066>068-161200- Christian-Clark-Coles-Crawford-Cumberland-Douglas-Edgar-Effingham- Jasper-Macon-Morgan-Moultrie-Sangamon-Scott-Shelby- 1127 AM CST Sun Dec 15 2019 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST MONDAY NIGHT... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central Illinois, east central Illinois, southeast Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... Accumulating snowfall is expected this afternoon through tonight. Three to locally 6 inches of snow are expected which will impact travel. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... Accumulating snowfall will resume Monday afternoon in evening. In total, snow accumulations of 4 to 7 inches are possible Sunday afternoon through Monday night. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be required. ILZ071>073-161200- Clay-Lawrence-Richland- 1127 AM CST Sun Dec 15 2019 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST MONDAY NIGHT... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southeast Illinois. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... Accumulating snowfall is expected this afternoon and will transition to light freezing rain late this evening before tapering off. A few inches of snow are expected along with ice accumulations will impact travel. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... Wintry weather will return Monday. In total, 2 to 4 inches of snow will be possible and up to two tenths of an inch of ice from Sunday afternoon through Monday night. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be required. Barker
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 winter weather, 5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Weather observers reported 5 to 8 inches of snow across Effingham County...including 8.0 inches in Effingham, 7.5 inches in Teutopolis, and 6.5 inches in Watson. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and slick roads.
Weather observers reported 5 to 7 inches of snow across Cumberland County...including 6.0 inches 3 miles north of Neoga and 5.1 inches in Neoga. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and slick roads.
Weather observers reported 6 to 8 inches of snow across Shelby County...including 7.5 inches in Shelbyville. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and slick roads.
Weather observers reported 4 to 7 inches of snow across southern Christian County...including 7.0 inches in Pana and 5.8 inches in Morrisonville. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and slick roads.
Weather observers reported 4 to 6 inches of snow across western Clark County...including 5.0 inches in Casey. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and slick roads.
Weather observers reported 4 to 6 inches of snow across Jasper County...including 6.2 inches in Newton. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and slick roads.
Weather observers reported 6 to 9 inches of snow across Coles County...including 9.5 inches in Mattoon and 6.4 inches in Charleston. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and slick roads.
Weather observers reported 6 to 8 inches of snow across Moultrie County...including 6.0 inches in Sullivan. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and slick roads.
Weather observers reported 4 to 7 inches of snow across southwestern Douglas County...including 6.8 inches in Arthur and 4.0 inches in Tuscola. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and slick roads.
Weather observers reported 4 to 6 inches of snow across western Edgar County...including 6.3 inches in Brocton. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and slick roads.
Weather observers reported 4 to 6 inches of snow across southern Macon County...including 6.0 inches in Macon. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and slick roads.
Weather observers reported 4 to 6 inches of snow across Sangamon County...including 5.5 inches in Loami and 4.5 inches in Springfield. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and slick roads.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, December 2019
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: 869280, 869279, 869282, 869283, 869284, 869289, 869278, 869281, 869285, 869286, 869287, 869288.