Heavy Snow in Illinois

Events

1,512

Deaths

16

Injuries

31

Damage

$460,000

• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Illinois, December 1, 20084 deaths · 7 eventsA major winter storm moved through the Midwest from November 30th through early on December 1st. Moderate to heavy snow impacted locations along and north of I-74...with portions of Tazewell, Woodford, and McLean counties picking up in excess of 6 inches of snow.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 30, 19973 deaths · 13 eventsAbout a 70 mile wide band of heavy snow, southwest of a Galesburg to Springfield to Effingham line, occurred. Snow amounts ranged from 3 to 6 inches with the heaviest occurring in a line from Rushville to south of Springfield.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Illinois, December 13, 20252 deaths · 1 injured · 29 eventsAn upper-level disturbance interacting with an advancing Arctic cold front brought a period of heavy snow to central Illinois on December 13th.
• Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Illinois, March 3 to 4, 20082 deaths · 12 eventsAn early March winter storm brought heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain to parts of southwest Illinois. Some light snow fell overnight on the 3rd, but then a band of heavy snow developed during the early afternoon hours on the 4th from the St.
• Heavy Snow and Cold in Illinois, January 5 to 6, 20152 deaths · 3 eventsA swath of 4 to 7 inches of snow fell from eastern Iowa into east central Illinois. Observers in LaSalle County reported snow totals of 5.5 to 6.5 inches.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, March 11, 20001 death · 9 injured · 16 eventsHeavy snowfall of 6 to 10 inches, accompanied by blowing and drifting, occurred in parts of central and southeast Illinois from the morning into the early evening of March 11, 2000. Several weather related traffic accidents resulted in nine serious injuries and one fatality.
• Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Illinois, January 1 to 3, 19991 death · 1 injured · $1,000 · 35 eventsA major winter storm paralyzed much of the region during the first few days of 1999. Snow began falling across portions of Central Illinois before noon on New Year's Day and continued to fall, moderate to heavy at times for most of the following 24-hour period.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, January 4 to 6, 20141 death · 35 eventsAn Arctic cold front pushed through central Illinois from the evening of January 4th into the afternoon of January 5th.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Illinois, February 14 to 15, 20101 death · 1 injured · 19 eventsA strong upper level low moved southeast across Missouri, then east across Kentucky. The heaviest snowfall rates were associated with a deformation zone on the north side of the upper low.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Illinois, January 26 to 28, 20091 death · 1 injured · 11 eventsA powerful winter storm brought periods of snow to portions of central and southeast Illinois from late on January 26th through the morning of January 28th.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, January 1 to 2, 19991 death · 18 eventsA powerful winter storm developed over the Texas panhandle and moved northeast through the Missouri bootheal, and then north northeast through eastern Illinois and into Michigan.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 9 to 10, 19971 death · 17 eventsA strong low pressure system moving northeast through Southern Illinois and into Central Indiana spread a band of heavy snow in about a 50 mile wide swath centered along the Illinois River.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 15 to 16, 20071 death · 14 eventsA major winter storm crossed central Illinois on December 15th, with the snow on its back side lingering into the 16th.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 24 to 25, 20101 death · 5 eventsAn area of low pressure tracking from the Dakotas southeastward into the Ohio River Valley brought snow to central and southeast Illinois from the morning of December 24th to the early morning hours of December 25th.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, January 8 to 9, 19976 injured · 35 eventsA winter storm developed over the southern Plains and tracked to the northeast across southern Illinois. The storm dumped between 3 and 11 inches of snow over central Illinois. The heaviest snow fell in a corridor just north of I-70.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, April 10 to 11, 19979 injured · 8 eventsAn early spring snow storm dumped between 4 and 13.5 inches of heavy wet snow over northern portions of Central Illinois. A 30 mile wide band centered along a line from just south of Galesburg to just north of Peoria received from 10 to 13.5 inches of snow.
• Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Illinois, January 24 to 25, 2026$150,000 · 19 eventsA major winter storm impacted southern Illinois on the 24th with light to moderate snow developing during the morning hours. After a brief lull in the evening, moderate to heavy snow developed with a second wave that continued overnight into the morning hours of the 25th.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, January 10, 20251 injured · $80,000 · 19 eventsA winter storm brought widespread heavy snowfall to southern Illinois beginning on the morning of the 10th.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Illinois, January 24 to 25, 2023$75,000 · 19 eventsWidespread snowfall blanketed southern Illinois during the night of the 24th into the early morning hours of the 25th. Heavy snowfall occurred along and west of Interstate 57, or roughly along and west of a Mount Vernon to Marion to Cairo line.
• Ice Storm and Heavy Snow in Illinois, January 5 to 6, 2005$110,000 · 11 eventsThe biggest winter storm of the season affected Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri from the evening of 4 January to the morning of 6 January.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, March 8 to 9, 19995 injured · 19 eventsA winter storm developed in the Southern Rockies and moved northeast into Illinois. The heaviest snow fell mainly north of interstate I-72/I-74 from Jacksonville to Danville.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, March 23 to 24, 2018$60,000 · 8 eventsLow pressure tracking from the Ozarks eastward into the Ohio River Valley brought a swath of heavy snow to north-central Illinois from the late evening of March 23rd through the afternoon of March 24th.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Illinois, March 24 to 25, 20132 injured · 25 eventsA deepening area of low pressure tracking from the lower Mississippi River Valley northeastward into the Ohio River Valley brought heavy snow to central Illinois from the morning of March 24th into the pre-dawn hours of March 25th.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Illinois, February 7, 20113 injured · 10 eventsA surface low pressure system developed in the Lower Mississippi Valley, then strengthened as it moved northeast across Tennessee and Kentucky.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, January 11 to 13, 201930 eventsA slow-moving storm system brought a prolonged period of snow to central Illinois from the evening of January 11th through the morning of January 13th.

Heavy Snow everywhereEvery kind of event in Illinois

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.