Winter Storm in Illinois

Events

2,927

Deaths

24

Injuries

67

Damage

$82 million

• Winter Storm in Illinois, January 15 to 18, 19975 deaths · 18 eventsOn January 15th, 4 to 6 inches of snow fell across much of northern Illinois. A narrow band of heavy snow fell from Aurora, in southeast Kane County, to southern Lake County Illinois.
• Blizzard and Ice Storm in Illinois, February 1 to 2, 20113 deaths · $11 million · 35 eventsA powerful storm system tracking from the southern Plains into the Great Lakes brought a wide variety of wintry precipitation to central and southeast Illinois on Februray 1st into the 2nd.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, December 1, 20061 death · 7 injured · $10 million · 23 eventsA major winter storm moved through the Midwest from November 29th into December 1st. Freezing rain moved into west central and central Illinois during the late hours of November 29th.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, February 11 to 12, 20081 death · 4 injured · $10 million · 17 eventsLow pressure developed over the southern Plains, spreading widespread heavy precipitation across southern Illinois. At the same time, high pressure over the upper Ohio Valley produced a cold easterly wind flow. The result was a crippling ice storm.
• Blizzard and Winter Storm in Illinois, February 12 to 13, 20072 deaths · 27 eventsOne of the most significant snowstorms in nearly a decade struck central Illinois on February 13, producing blizzard conditions in many locations.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, March 8 to 9, 19982 deaths · 26 eventsA storm over the Southern Plains moved northeast bringing rain to the area which switched over to snow in the evening on March 8th. The snowfall persisted overnight with a mixture of freezing rain and snow in our southeastern counties.
• 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.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, January 31, 20082 deaths · 4 eventsA deepening surface low pressure system tracked northward from the Lower Mississippi Valley, passing across far western Kentucky. Cold air wrapped southward around the back side of the low, keeping precipitation frozen or freezing over parts of southern Illinois.
• Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Illinois, January 5 to 6, 20251 death · $1.2 million · 19 eventsA major to locally historic winter storm impacted southern Illinois on the 5th with a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain.
• Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Illinois, February 24 to 25, 20071 death · 1 injured · $965,000 · 13 eventsA widespread and crippling ice/snow storm affected eastern Iowa, northwest and western Illinois, and extreme northeast Missouri on February 24, 2007. This massive ice storm was the worst to affect the region since January 22-23, 1965.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, January 15 to 17, 19971 death · 7 injured · 35 eventsA winter storm developed over the central Rockies and moved east into the Midwest. The storm brought between 4 and 6 inches of snow to a large part of central Illinois north of I-70.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, December 11 to 12, 20101 death · 8 injured · 18 eventsA strong winter storm moved across northern Illinois on December 11th and 12th, producing snowfall totals generally in the 1 to 3 inch range. As the storm moved east, very strong winds developed causing whiteout and near blizzard conditions in open areas.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, December 22 to 23, 20041 death · 1 injured · $100,000 · 19 eventsA major winter storm dumped from 10 to 20 inches of snow across most of southern Illinois, clogging interstates and shutting down most businesses near the peak of the Christmas shopping season.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, January 26 to 27, 20141 death · 7 injured · 13 eventsA powerful cold front swept across northern Illinois during the evening and early overnight hours of January 26th into the 27th.
• 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.
• Winter Storm and High Wind in Illinois, January 12 to 14, 20241 death · 50 kt wind · 41 eventsA strong double-barreled low pressure system brought two waves of accumulating snow to the region beginning during the early morning hours of January 12th through late morning then again later that evening through the early morning of January 13th.
• Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in Illinois, December 22 to 24, 20221 death · 38 eventsA powerful cold front swept through the region, with wind chills dropping to 20 to 30 below zero. These were the coldest wind chills observed in over 25 years across the region. Paducah, KY dropped down to a -21 wind chill, which was the coldest since February 3, 1996.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, January 26 to 28, 2009$51 million · 19 eventsA prolonged, major winter storm dumped 6 to 10 inches of sleet and snow north of a line from East Cape Girardeau through Vienna to the confluence of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers. This resulted in at least two dozen roof collapses and very difficult driving conditions.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, December 13, 20001 death · 1 injured · 21 eventsBetween 6 and 8 inches of snow accumulated along and east of a Bloomington to Decatur to Taylorville line with a light ice coating on top of the heavy snow. The snow started between 8 and 10 am, with 6 inches accumulating by 5 pm, and ending by 10 pm.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Illinois, February 15 to 16, 20211 death · 1 injured · 19 eventsA strong winter storm moved across northern Illinois on February 15th and 16th, producing a widespread area of 4 to 8 inches of snow.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, March 19 to 20, 19961 death · 14 eventsA winter storm moved into southeastern Illinois early on March 19th. The storm dumped up to 11 inches of snow across the area. There was considerable blow and drifting of snow which temporarily closed some roads in the area.
• Blizzard and Winter Storm in Illinois, February 24, 20161 death · 12 eventsA powerful winter storm system impacted parts of central and southeast Illinois on February 24th, bringing snow and strong winds. Low pressure tracked from east Texas during the evening of February 23rd to Ohio by the evening of the 24th.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, January 18 to 19, 20191 death · 10 eventsHeavy snow developed over northern Illinois during the evening of January 18th and continued through the late morning of January 19th. A 63 year old male died while shoveling snow in Lake County, Illinois.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, February 6, 20071 death · 8 eventsA fast moving clipper system moved across northern Illinois on Tuesday February 6th. Air temperatures were very cold and the snow was very dry and fluffy, leading to large snowfall totals for this clipper system. Numerous traffic accidents were reported across northern Illinois.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, February 23 to 24, 20121 death · 2 eventsHeavy snow began falling during the afternoon hours of February 23rd and continued into the morning hours of February 24th. The snow was heaviest over far northern Illinois.

Winter Storm 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.