Low pressure tracking from southwest Missouri to west-central Indiana brought a period of freezing rain to north-central Illinois from the evening of February 11th into the early morning of February 12th. While temperatures were warm enough for rain across much of the area, locations along and north of a Galesburg to Wyoming line hovered just below 32F and experienced freezing rain.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
Low pressure tracking from southwest Missouri to west-central Indiana brought a period of freezing rain to north-central Illinois from the evening of February 11th into the early morning of February 12th. While temperatures were warm enough for rain across much of the area, locations along and north of a Galesburg to Wyoming line hovered just below 32F and experienced freezing rain. Ice accumulations ranged from one quarter to one half inch...with the highest accumulations focused across far northern Knox 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 Feb 11, 3:02 PM CST, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lincoln IL 302 PM CST Mon Feb 11 2019 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Tuesday) ISSUED AT 302 PM CST Mon Feb 11 2019 Plenty of challenges this after package with just the first two periods of the forecast. Rain/drizzle and freezing rain/drizzle along with patchy fog were all a concern this package for tonight into tomorrow as above freezing temps were not pushing north as far or as quickly as originally forecast. Multiple updates were needed today to accommodate this change. Temps across the middle of the CWA have rise to above freezing, but by only 1-2 degrees. Areas to the north stayed hovering just below freezing until last couple of hours. Precip was also slow to move north as well and finally reached western IL this afternoon. HiRes models, HRRR, also forecast that most of the precip this afternoon and into this evening would stay west of I-55 with lighter amounts/returns to the east. Currently this seems to be occurring as forecast by the HRRR. That being said, have decided to make adjustments to the winter weather advisory for this evening. So, have removed most counties where temps are clearly above freezing this afternoon and am expecting them to remain above freezing through the night. Bloomington is at 32 degrees, but they should creep up one more degree before steading out through the night. Also going with very light precip in that area this evening as well. Areas toward the IL river will see more precip and even though some locations may be at or just above freezing, elevated surface and untreated roadways will likely become icy this evening. So will now have a winter weather advisory 9 counties, roughly along and northwest of the Illinois river, which does include Mason, Tazewell, Woodford counties. Icing amounts along and around the river should be less than one tenth of an inch. However, much higher amounts around Galesburg could possibly see ice accumulations around 2 tenths. Due to the steady nature of the temps overnight will have the advisory continue until 6 am Tuesday morning. Precip should be diminishing by then, but will likely lose ice crystals and precip could transition to a mix of snow and drizzle. Patchy and areas of fog will be an issue in as well tomorrow morning. Since the 500 mb trough will be moving through the area tomorrow, the precip will continue through the day. Light rain or drizzle will still be possible in the warmer sections, but this precip will change to snow, from west to east during the morning to afternoon. Any snow accumulations through the period should remain around one half inch. The other issue with this system moving through the area tomorrow is that it will be deepening as it moves northeast across the area. Winds will become lighter as the low pressure area moves right over the CWA tonight. However, as it moves into northern IN Tuesday morning, winds will be west to northwest and increase in speed. The gradient will continue to tighten into the afternoon and the area could expect very strong winds during the day with gusts of 30 to 35 mph possible. Will not complicate the forecast anymore than it already is with a wind advisory for tomorrow, but that is something the overnight shift will need to look at for the next main forecast. Temps should be fairly steady through the night though they will drop off in the southeast and then climb back up again into the mid 40s for Tuesday. && .LONG TERM...(Tuesday night through Monday) ISSUED AT 302 PM CST Mon Feb 11 2019 As the system lifts to the northeast across the Great Lakes, light snow could linger over the northeastern parts of the CWA. Flurries could also linger across other parts of the area, but will hold off for now and let later shift add those into the forecast. These flurries/light snow will only be in the evening and then a period of dry weather is expected the remainder of the night into Thursday morning as high pressure moves across the area. Behind the high pressure, southerly winds will return to the region and bring some warmer temps for Thursday afternoon. However, this will be ahead of the next weather system that will bring rain to the area Thur afternoon into Thur night. The extended models differ on how this system will evolve and move across the midwest but appears there will be a couple of rounds of precip across IL Thur night through Friday night. Rain should be predominate in the south while the north sees mostly snow. However, there will be a transition zone between the two areas and this far out, the models do not have much of a clue as to where that zone will be. Based on temps, it's even possible that more freezing rain could occur over the region. However, again, too far out and will not try to get that detailed in the forecast just yet. Behind this system, another shot of cold air is in store for the weekend and into the beginning of next week. Temps will generally be below freezing except in the southeast counties where mid 30s is expected. Couple of rounds of precip will be possible Sun through Mon with only rain and snow being forecast at this time. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Tuesday afternoon) Issued at 1122 AM CST Mon Feb 11 2019 IFR/LIFR conditions will prevail through the period. Through about 12Z, rain will prevail along with east winds and ceilings 500 feet or less, although as winds and rain diminish after 08Z, some potential exists for visibilities to tank in dense fog. Will continue to evaluate this, but have kept visibilities around 3/4 to 1SM during that time. Following passage of a low pressure area Tuesday morning, winds will swing around to the northwest and start gusting from 25-30 knots. && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until 6 AM CST Tuesday for ILZ027>031- 036-037-040-041. Flood Watch through late tonight for ILZ063-067-068-071>073. && SHORT TERM...Auten LONG TERM...Auten AVIATION...Geelhart
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lincoln IL 321 PM CST Mon Feb 11 2019 ILZ027-028-121200- Knox-Stark- 321 PM CST Mon Feb 11 2019 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST TUESDAY... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Knox and Stark Counties. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... Freezing rain and sleet will continue into tonight, although with temperatures close to freezing, it will change over to rain at times. The ice may accumulate to a tenth or two, which would cause significant travel issues. The precipitation is expected to change over to snow closer to sunrise. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... Light snow will taper off Tuesday afternoon, but may accumulate up to an inch. As this storm system departs, west winds will gust from 35 to 45 mph in the afternoon and early evening. Another storm system will affect the area late this week, with potential for a few inches of accumulation on Friday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated through tonight. However, reports of freezing rain or ice accumulation would be greatly appreciated. ILZ029>031-036-037-040-041-121200- Fulton-Marshall-Mason-Peoria-Schuyler-Tazewell-Woodford- 321 PM CST Mon Feb 11 2019 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST TUESDAY... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central Illinois, generally across the Illinois River valley. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... A mixture of freezing rain and sleet is expected to change over to all rain this evening, though the ice may linger longer west of the Illinois River. Toward sunrise, the rain will begin to change over to freezing rain and snow. A light glaze of ice is expected, especially late in the night. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... Light snow will taper off Tuesday afternoon, but may accumulate up to an inch. As this storm system departs, west winds will gust from 35 to 45 mph in the afternoon and early evening. Another storm system will affect the area late this week, with potential for a few inches of accumulation on Friday. Flooding will continue along the Illinois River through the entire period. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated through tonight. However, reports of freezing rain or ice accumulation would be greatly appreciated. ILZ038-042>057-061-062-066-121200- Cass-Champaign-Christian-Coles-Cumberland-De Witt-Douglas-Edgar- Effingham-Logan-Macon-McLean-Menard-Morgan-Moultrie-Piatt- Sangamon-Scott-Shelby-Vermilion- 321 PM CST Mon Feb 11 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central and east central Illinois. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... Areas of fog are likely to develop after midnight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... A mixture of rain and freezing rain is expected early Tuesday, before changing over to snow. Up to an inch of snow is possible in some areas. As this storm system departs, west winds will gust to around 40 mph in the afternoon and early evening. Another storm system will affect the area late this week, with potential for a few inches of accumulation on Friday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated through tonight. ILZ063-067-068-071>073-121200- Clark-Clay-Crawford-Jasper-Lawrence-Richland- 321 PM CST Mon Feb 11 2019 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of east central Illinois and southeast Illinois. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... Periods of rain will occur across southeast Illinois through tonight. Another half to 3/4 inch of accumulation is expected. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... Rain will continue into Tuesday, before changing to snow late in the afternoon. Little snow accumulation is expected. Flooding will continue along the Wabash, Little Wabash, and Embarras rivers for the next several days. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated through tonight. Geelhart
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
456 PM CST MON FEB 11 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0450 PM FREEZING RAIN GALESBURG 40.95N 90.38W
02/11/2019 U0.00 INCH KNOX IL PUBLIC
LIGHT GLAZE ON ELEVATED SURFACES. RELAYED BY WMBD-TV.
&&
25The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Weather observers reported ice accumulations of one quarter to one half inch across the northern half of Knox County, including one half inch 4 miles east-northeast of Rio. Tree limbs were damaged and several power outages occurred due to the ice and 40-45mph wind gusts.
Weather observers reported ice accumulations of one quarter inch across Stark County. Tree limbs were damaged and several power outages occurred due to the ice and 40-45mph wind gusts.
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, February 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: 806075, 806076.