An upper-level disturbance interacting with an advancing Arctic cold front brought a period of heavy snow to central Illinois on December 13th. Despite limited deep-layer moisture, strong synoptic lift and high snow-to-liquid ratios of 15:1 to 20:1 led to enhanced snowfall rates and an efficient accumulation.
Every event with a place to put it; 29 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.
An upper-level disturbance interacting with an advancing Arctic cold front brought a period of heavy snow to central Illinois on December 13th. Despite limited deep-layer moisture, strong synoptic lift and high snow-to-liquid ratios of 15:1 to 20:1 led to enhanced snowfall rates and an efficient accumulation. Storm total snowfall was 3 to 6 inches everywhere north of the I-70 corridor...with as much as 6 to 8 inches occurring along a Canton...to Bloomington...to Danville line. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents and road closures were reported. A seven-vehicle accident on southbound I-57 in Coles County resulted in the death of a man and the injury of his wife. Meanwhile a separate multi-vehicle crash on I-55 near the Clear Lake exit in Springfield claimed the life of a teenaged girl.
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 13, 4:54 AM CST, 2 hours 6 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Lincoln IL 454 AM CST Sat Dec 13 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - A quick hitting winter system will bring 2 to 5 inches of accumulating snow north of I-70 today. A narrow corridor of amounts exceeding 5 inches is most likely near or north of a Macomb to Champaign line. - Dangerously cold wind chills are expected tonight into Sunday morning, and again Sunday night into Monday morning. The coldest wind chills will drop as low as 15 to 25 degrees below zero. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 324 AM CST Sat Dec 13 2025 An upper low is entering the northern Great Lakes Region early this morning with a surface low just north of there in Ontario. A cold front stretches southward through the Midwest states, with it approaching I-70 as of 3 am. Winds are brisk behind the front with gusts up to 20 mph being observed. Temperatures will continue to tumble behind the front with readings already in the single digits across eastern Iowa. Most will reach their daytime highs this morning as temperatures steadily fall throughout the day. Midday temperatures will range from the single digits near Galesburg, teens over central parts of the state, and low to middle 20s south of I-70. Even colder air arrives tonight... more on that later. Accumulating snow is expected today as an upper shortwave swiftly slides across the area. Snow will begin nosing into west-central Illinois by daybreak with chances quickly overspreading most locations north of I-70 by 9 or 10 am. Snow will continue through this afternoon before pushing east of here early this evening. Forecast soundings show strong synoptic lift overlapping the dendritic growth zone (DGZ) between 500-700 mb, with a secondary DGZ located in the lowest ~900 mb. Light winds and high snow ratios (15-20:1) will favor light, fluffy dendrites that will lead to quick snow accumulations. A narrow corridor of moderate to heavy snow is expected where strong ~600-700 mb frontogenetic banding slides through later this morning, which appears most likely near or just north of a Macomb to Champaign line. The 13.00Z HREF highlights a 50-70% chance for 1"/hour snowfall rates in this same area between 11 am and 2 pm. Confidence is high that most areas north of I-70 will receive 2 to 5 inches of snow with amounts exceeding 5 inches most likely near or just north of a Macomb to Champaign line. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until this evening. Strong high pressure drops into the middle Mississippi Valley by Sunday. Skies will clear with the approaching high overnight, allowing low temperatures to fall below zero. A tight pressure gradient ahead of the approaching high will lead to brisk northwest winds with gusts upwards of 25 mph tonight, potentially leading to some blowing and drifting of fresh snowfall. Wind chills will plummet with coldest readings expected to range from 15 to 25 degrees below zero through Sunday morning. Temperatures will remain bitterly cold during the day Sunday with highs looking to near or break record lowest maximum temperatures for the day. Winds will become light on Sunday as the center of the surface high moves right overhead, allowing wind chills to improve some. Sunday night lows will fall below zero once again, with winds expected to increase as the surface high slides off to our east. Wind chills Sunday night into Monday morning will bottom out between 15 to 20 degrees below zero. A Cold Weather Advisory is in effect for tonight into Sunday morning, with another likely needed Sunday night into Monday morning. Southerly return flow will bring warmer temperatures heading into the new week, with highs looking to approach the 40s to near 50 by midweek. Our next chance for precipitation comes in the form of rain as a cold front moves through later in the week. NMA && .AVIATION... (For the 12z TAFs through 12z Sunday Morning) Issued at 454 AM CST Sat Dec 13 2025 A quick hitting winter system will bring accumulating snow to central Illinois today. Flight conditions will worsen as snow arrives between 14-15Z, with visibility dropping as low as 1/2 to 1/4 mile. Ceilings will range from MVFR to IFR, with higher chances (60%) for <1k ft ceilings with the precipitation. Snow will come to an end later this afternoon or early this evening, with skies clearing and ceilings improving to VFR later tonight. Northwest winds will increase to 10-15 kt overnight as an area of strong high pressure approaches from the northwest. NMA && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until 8 PM CST this evening for ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068. Cold Weather Advisory from 8 PM this evening to noon CST Sunday for ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lincoln IL 510 AM CST Sat Dec 13 2025 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-141115- Knox-Stark-Peoria-Marshall-Woodford-Fulton-Tazewell-McLean-Schuyler- Mason-Logan-De Witt-Piatt-Champaign-Vermilion-Cass-Menard-Scott- Morgan-Sangamon-Christian-Macon-Moultrie-Douglas-Coles-Edgar-Shelby- Cumberland-Clark-Effingham-Jasper-Crawford-Clay-Richland-Lawrence- 510 AM CST Sat Dec 13 2025 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Illinois, east central Illinois, southeast Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Accumulating snow will overspread the area this morning, and diminish late afternoon to evening. 2 to 6 inches of snow are forecast north of I-70 with lower amounts south of I-70. Wind chills will drop 15 to 25 below zero for much of the area tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. Wind chills will drop 10 to 20 below zero for much of the area Sunday night and Monday morning. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated through tonight. 25
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
17 heavy snow, 12 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Weather observers measured 5 to 6 inches of snow across DeWitt County...including 6.0 inches in Lane and 5.5 inches in Clinton. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 6 to 8 inches of snow across McLean County...including 7.5 inches 2 miles northwest of the Central Illinois Airport in Bloomington and 6.5 inches 4 miles north of Shirley. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 5 to 7 inches of snow across Fulton County...including 6.5 inches in Lewistown and 6.3 inches in Canton. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 5 to 7 inches of snow across Knox County...including 7.0 inches in Maquon and 6.0 inches in Galesburg. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 5 to 6 inches of snow across Logan County...including 4.8 inches at the National Weather Service office in Lincoln. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 6 to 8 inches of snow across Macon County...including 7.5 inches in Decatur and 7.0 inches in Decatur. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 6 to 8 inches of snow across Mason County...including 7.5 inches in Manito and 7.0 inches in Havana. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 5 to 6 inches of snow across Morgan County...including 5.7 inches 2 miles north of Alexander. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 5 to 6 inches of snow across Sangamon County...including 5.5 inches 4 miles west-southwest of Berry and 5.0 inches in Sherman. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred. A multi-vehicle collision on I-55 near the Clear Lake exit in Springfield killed a 14-year old girl and prompted the closure of the interstate for several hours.
Weather observers measured 5 to 7 inches of snow across Tazewell County...including 7.0 inches in Pekin and 6.0 inches in Morton. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 6 to 8 inches of snow across Woodford County...including 7.5 inches in Eureka and 6.0 inches in Metamora. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 3 to 5 inches of snow across Cass County...including 4.5 inches in Beardstown. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 3 to 5 inches of snow across Christian County...including 4.5 inches 1 mile east-northeast of Taylorville. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 3 to 5 inches of snow across Marshall County...including 5.0 inches in Wenona and 4.8 inches in Hopewell. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 3 to 5 inches of snow across Menard County...including 4.5 inches 1 mile west of Athens. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 3 to 5 inches of snow across Schuyler County...including 4.7 inches 5 miles east-northeast of Rushville and 4.0 inches in Littleton. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 1 to 3 inches of snow across Scott County. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, a few traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 3 to 5 inches of snow across Stark County. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 5 to 7 inches of snow across Peoria County...including 7.0 inches in Kickapoo and 6.0 inches in Trivoli. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 5 to 7 inches of snow across Champaign County...including 6.2 inches in Champaign and 6.0 inches two miles north of Homer. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 5 to 6 inches of snow across Douglas County...including 5.5 inches in Tuscola. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 5 to 6 inches of snow across Edgar County. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 5 to 6 inches of snow across Piatt County...including 5.5 inches 2 miles northeast of Cisco and 5.0 inches in Atwood. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 6 to 8 inches of snow across Vermilion County...including 8.1 inches 4 miles northwest of Tilton and 7.7 inches in Danville. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 1 to 3 inches of snow across Clark County...including 1.5 inches in Casey. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, a few traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 3 to 5 inches of snow across Coles County...including 4.4 inches in Charleston. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred. A multi-vehicle crash on southbound I-57 near mile marker 193 resulted in one death and one injury, as well as the closure of the interstate for several hours.
Weather observers measured 1 to 3 inches of snow across Cumberland County. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, a few traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 3 to 5 inches of snow across Moultrie County...including 4.2 inches in Lovington. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred.
Weather observers measured 1 to 3 inches of snow across Shelby County...including 2.0 inches at the Shelbyville Dam. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, a few traffic accidents occurred.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Snow, Sangamon | 2025-12-13 | 14 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Winter Weather, Coles | 2025-12-13 | 43 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, December 2025
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: 1301694, 1301701, 1301755, 1301758, 1301762, 1301768, 1301774, 1301777, 1301782, 1301784, 1301785, 1301830, 1301832, 1301837, 1301838, 1301840, 1301842, 1301844, 1301848, 1301692, 1301696, 1301697, 1301703, 1301704, 1301834, 1301835, 1301836, 1301839, 1301843.