On the morning of January 25, 2021 light to moderate snow moved into northern Missouri. Widespread amounts were around 6 inches, but some areas across far northern Missouri reached the 8 to 12 inch range.
Every event with a place to put it; 11 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 EAX wrote it up.
On the morning of January 25, 2021 light to moderate snow moved into northern Missouri. Widespread amounts were around 6 inches, but some areas across far northern Missouri reached the 8 to 12 inch range.
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 Kansas City, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 24, 5:49 PM CST, 10 hours 11 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Kansas City/Pleasant Hill MO
549 PM CST Sun Jan 24 2021
.Discussion...
Issued at 336 PM CST SUN JAN 24 2021
Key Points:
- Strong storm system is expected to bring 0.75-1.25" of
precipitation to the region on Monday. This precipitation is
expected to fall as rain along and south of the Missouri, but
farther north, along and north of highway 36, thermal profile should
support snow and a wintry mix.
-Much weaker storm system may bring additional snow to the region on
Wednesday. Snowfall amounts with this system generally look to be
less than an inch.
-Late week warm up is expected.
Detailed discussion...
Short wave trough moving from the baja Mexico into southern Arizona
this evening is expected to move into the Plains tonight impacting
the region on Monday. Abundant gulf moisture surging north with dew
points in the 50s and 60s across eastern Texas/ Louisiana/southern
Oklahoma and Arkansas. This moisture is expected to continue to
result in PWAT values of 0.6-0.75 by early Monday morning across the
region (near climatological max for this time of year). As
isentropic lift on 290-300K surface expands northward, expect
precipitation shield to develop across the region. Have rain along
and south of the Missouri River, but as precipitation expands
northward, should transition to snow. Snow is expected along and
north of highway 36. Models are weakly unstable within the
dendritic layer across northwestern Missouri Monday morning, leading
to 1+"/hr snowfall rates through the afternoon. Have nudged snow
ratios upwards slightly with in the TROWAL, leading to slightly
higher snow accumulations. Have also added a few counties in east
central Missouri where wintery mix can be largely expected
throughout the day.
Precipitation is expected to wind down Tuesday morning as wave lifts
north and east and TROWAL follows suit. Cooler air remains across
the region on Tuesday, keeping temperatures below freezing north of
the Missouri River.
Longwave trough across the western US Monday night reorganizes into
phased waves as system moves into the Rocky Mountains on Tuesday.
Systems have very little moisture to work with as the Gulf remains
closed, so only have chance pops with the waves moving through.
Upper level ridging is expected late week into the weekend as wave
digs into the Western US. This wave is expected to move into the
central US next weekend, but looks to be warm enough to mainly
result in rain across Missouri.
&&
.Aviation...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Monday Evening)
Issued at 545 PM CST SUN JAN 24 2021
Despite widespread MVFR conditions there is a bit of a lull in the
action before moderate precipitation moves into the terminals in a
few hours. The onset of the precipitation will be somewhat
gradual, but by the overnight hours most of the terminals should
have low ceilings and reduced visibility due to ongoing
precipitation. The KC terminals should stay above freezing, but
KSTJ will be very close, so while initial precipitation should be
rain, there is a good chance that by the late morning or early
afternoon on Monday there will be frozen precipitation in the form
of sleet, snow, and perhaps some freezing rain.
&&
.EAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
KS...Winter Storm Warning from 3 AM Monday to 6 AM CST Tuesday for
KSZ102.
Winter Weather Advisory from 3 AM Monday to 6 AM CST Tuesday for
KSZ025.
MO...Winter Storm Warning from 3 AM Monday to 6 AM CST Tuesday for
MOZ001>008-011-012.
Winter Weather Advisory from 3 AM Monday to 6 AM CST Tuesday for
MOZ013>017-020-023>025.
&&
Discussion...BT
Aviation...LeightonHazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Kansas City/Pleasant Hill MO 252 PM CST Sun Jan 24 2021 KSZ025-057-060-102>105-MOZ001>008-011>017-020>025-028>033-037>040- 043>046-053-054-252100- Atchison KS-Miami-Linn KS-Doniphan-Leavenworth-Wyandotte-Johnson KS- Atchison MO-Nodaway-Worth-Gentry-Harrison-Mercer-Putnam-Schuyler- Holt-Andrew-De Kalb-Daviess-Grundy-Sullivan-Adair-Buchanan-Clinton- Caldwell-Livingston-Linn MO-Macon-Platte-Clay-Ray-Carroll-Chariton- Randolph-Jackson-Lafayette-Saline-Howard-Cass-Johnson MO-Pettis- Cooper-Bates-Henry- 252 PM CST Sun Jan 24 2021 This hazardous weather outlook is for northwest...north central and west central Missouri...as well as extreme eastern Kansas. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight There is the chance for some a light wintry mix late tonight across far northern Missouri. More detailed information can be accessed at... https://www.weather.gov/eax/hwo .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday Heavy snow is expected on Monday north of a St Joseph to Kirksville line where 6 to 10 inches is expected. South of that line, a sharp cut off in snow totals is expected as more of a wintry mix is expected. South of he Missouri precipitation is expected to remain all rain. More detailed information can be accessed at... https://www.weather.gov/eax/hwo
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
10 winter storm, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Light to moderate snow moved into far northwest Missouri on the morning of January 25, by mid day roughly 6 inches of snow fell, and by the end of the event roughly 8 to 12 inches of snow fell across the county.
Light to moderate snow moved into far northwest Missouri on the morning of January 25, by mid day roughly 6 inches of snow fell, and by the end of the event roughly 6 to 7 inches of snow fell across the county.
Light to moderate snow moved into far northwest Missouri on the morning of January 25, by mid day roughly 6 inches of snow fell, and by the end of the event roughly 8 to 12 inches of snow fell across the county.
Light to moderate snow moved into far northwest Missouri on the morning of January 25, by mid day roughly 6 inches of snow fell, and by the end of the event roughly 6 to 7 inches of snow fell across the county.
Light to moderate snow moved into far northwest Missouri on the morning of January 25, by mid day roughly 6 inches of snow fell, and by the end of the event roughly 6 to 7 inches of snow fell across the county.
Light to moderate snow moved into far northwest Missouri on the morning of January 25, by mid day roughly 6 inches of snow fell, and by the end of the event roughly 6 to 7 inches of snow fell across the county.
Light to moderate snow moved into far northwest Missouri on the morning of January 25, by mid day roughly 6 inches of snow fell, and by the end of the event roughly 6 to 7 inches of snow fell across the county.
Light to moderate snow moved into far northwest Missouri on the morning of January 25, by mid day roughly 6 inches of snow fell, and by the end of the event roughly 6 to 7 inches of snow fell across the county.
Light to moderate snow moved into far northwest Missouri on the morning of January 25, by mid day roughly 6 inches of snow fell, and by the end of the event roughly 6 to 7 inches of snow fell across the county.
Light to moderate snow moved into far northwest Missouri on the morning of January 25, by mid day roughly 6 inches of snow fell, and by the end of the event roughly 6 to 7 inches of snow fell across the county.
Light snow fell through the day on January 25. While the heavier snow fell across far northern Missouri into southern and central Iowa, there was enough snow in Adair County to cause a vehicle accident that resulted in injuries and at least two fatalities. In the middle of the event, around 2 pm LST, the head-on vehicle collision occurred when one vehicle lost control on an icy or snow covered roadway and veered into oncoming traffic.
Missouri Highway Patrol Crash Report: https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/HP68/AccidentDetailsAction?ACC_RPT_NUM=210040140 .
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, Adair | 2021-01-25 | 12 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Winter Weather, Adair | 2021-01-25 | 49 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, January 2021
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: 940787, 940788, 940790, 940791, 940799, 940792, 940795, 940796, 940797, 940798, 940805.