Dangerous to record breaking heat will build across the center of the nation and slowly build eastward this week. Wildfire conditions remain critical for the Southwest and portions of the Great Basin through Monday. For the northern Plains and upper Midwest, severe thunderstorms with the potential for large to very large hail and severe winds are the primary hazards. Read More >
Overview
Preliminary observed snowfall map from the morning of February 1 through the morning of February 4
A long-duration winter storm brought a mixed bag of rain, freezing rain, sleet, and heavy snow to central and southeast Illinois between February 1-3. This paired with winds gusting up to 30-35 mph created blowing/drifting snow, which resulted in dangerous travel conditions. The highest snowfall totals ranged from 8-15" within a swath situated between the Illinois River and I-70. Daily snowfall records were broken at our climate sites in Peoria, Springfield, and Lincoln on February 2. Lesser yet still significant snowfall amounts were reported elsewhere. Ice amounts were brief for most, with the largest accumulations situated south of I-72 where one to three tenths of an inch were reported prior to the heavy snowfall.
Snow/Ice
Public Information Statement National Weather Service Lincoln IL 1254 PM CST Fri Feb 4 2022 ...3-DAY SNOWFALL REPORTS FEB 1-3... Location Amount Time/Date Provider ...Illinois... ...Cass County... 3 SE Bluff Springs 12.8 in 0630 AM 02/04 COCORAHS ...Champaign County... Tolono 15.0 in 0635 PM 02/03 Broadcast Media Champaign 2.5 SW 13.0 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Savoy 12.5 in 0800 PM 02/03 Mesonet Savoy 0.6 SSE 12.5 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS 2 SW Champaign 11.5 in 0800 PM 02/03 Mesonet 3 SE Urbana 11.0 in 0700 PM 02/03 Mesonet 2 ENE Urbana 10.7 in 0810 PM 02/03 Mesonet Ogden 9.8 in 0600 AM 02/04 COOP Champaign County 8.6 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Savoy 0.9 N 8.5 in 1000 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Homer 2.0 N 8.0 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS St. Joseph 1.1 ENE 7.8 in 0549 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Sidney 0.9 N 7.7 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Champaign 0.6 NNE 6.8 in 0600 AM 02/04 COCORAHS ...Christian County... 2.5 W Taylorville 11.0 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP Pana 10.7 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP Morrisonville 0.5 SSE 10.5 in 0730 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Pana 6.2 NNE 10.1 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS 3 W Edinburg 9.5 in 0430 PM 02/03 Cocorahs Edinburg 3.0 W 8.6 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS ...Clark County... Casey 5.0 in 0730 AM 02/04 COOP ...Clay County... Flora 5.0 in 0300 PM 02/03 Mesonet Clay City 6 SSE 4.8 in 0600 AM 02/04 COOP Flora 4.0 in 0630 AM 02/04 COOP ...Coles County... 0.8 SE Charleston 8.5 in 0604 PM 02/03 COOP Charleston 4.7 SSW 6.0 in 0800 AM 02/04 COCORAHS ...Crawford County... Hutsonville 5.5 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS 2.0 W Robinson 4.5 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP Robinson 3.5 in 0845 PM 02/03 Broadcast Media ...De Witt County... Clinton 0.4 WSW 11.9 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Clinton 1SSW 11.0 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP Lane 10.0 in 0445 PM 02/03 Mesonet ...Douglas County... Newman 12.5 in 0600 PM 02/03 Cocorahs Tuscola 2.3 WSW 10.0 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS 1 WSW Tuscola 9.5 in 0600 PM 02/03 CO-OP Observer Tuscola 9.5 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP Tuscola 0.5 WSW 9.5 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS ...Edgar County... Brocton 8.0 in 0740 PM 02/03 Mesonet Paris 6.5 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP ...Effingham County... Altamont 8.0 in 0230 PM 02/03 Trained Spotter 2 NNW Effingham 8.0 in 0449 PM 02/03 Mesonet Watson 4.3 in 0730 AM 02/04 COCORAHS ...Fulton County... Canton 10.0 in 1200 PM 02/03 Mesonet Astoria 9.0 in 1200 PM 02/04 Mesonet Avon 6.0 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP ...Jasper County... 1.1 W Newton 6.8 in 1200 AM 02/04 COOP Yale 0.1 SSW 4.5 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS ...Knox County... Yates City 9.2 in 0705 AM 02/04 COOP Knoxville 0.7 NW 6.1 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Galesburg 6.0 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP Altona 5.0 in 0600 AM 02/04 COOP ...Lawrence County... 1 W Lawrenceville 5.1 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS 1.7 W Lawrenceville 4.1 in 0800 AM 02/04 COOP 1 SW Bridgeport 3.5 in 0800 PM 02/03 Mesonet ...Logan County... Mount Pulaski 11.5 in 0600 AM 02/04 COOP NWS Lincoln 11.0 in 0545 PM 02/03 Official NWS Obs ...Macon County... Macon 13.0 in 0615 PM 02/03 Trained Spotter 1 N Mount Zion 12.0 in 0310 PM 02/03 Trained Spotter Warrensburg 12.0 in 0900 PM 02/03 Mesonet Forsyth 11.8 in 0700 AM 02/04 Public Decatur 1 SSE 9.9 in 1200 AM 02/04 COOP Orena 1.3 S 9.7 in 0800 AM 02/04 COCORAHS ...Marshall County... Lacon 8.0 in 0800 AM 02/03 COOP Henry 7.0 in 0600 AM 02/03 Mesonet ...McLean County... 2 N Downs 13.5 in 0400 PM 02/03 Mesonet Bloomington 2.7 NE 12.8 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS 2 N Towanda 12.0 in 0330 PM 02/03 Mesonet Arrowsmith 1.7 NNE 11.1 in 0800 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Normal 1.1 SSE 10.8 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS 4 NE Normal 9.0 in 0500 AM 02/04 COOP Heyworth 0.6 E 8.6 in 0800 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Chenoa 8.0 in 0730 AM 02/04 UCOOP ...Menard County... Petersburg 6.5 SSE 10.2 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Athens 4 WSW 10.2 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP 1 W Athens 8.5 in 0600 AM 02/04 Public ...Morgan County... 2.0 E Jacksonville 8.9 in 0530 AM 02/04 COOP Jacksonville 7.0 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP Jacksonville 2.6 SE 6.9 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS ...Moultrie County... Lovington 9.9 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP Sullivan 3S 5.8 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP ...Peoria County... Dunlap 11.0 in 0600 AM 02/03 Mesonet Peoria 10.6 in 0600 AM 02/03 Official NWS Obs Peoria 2 NW 10.0 in 0600 AM 02/03 Mesonet Peoria 3.4 WNW 9.8 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Peoria 5 NW 8.6 in 0800 AM 02/04 COOP ...Piatt County... 2 NE Cisco 9.5 in 0825 PM 02/03 Mesonet Mansfield 3.0 WSW 6.8 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS ...Richland County... Olney 2 S 5.9 in 0600 AM 02/04 COOP ...Sangamon County... Springfield 4.4 W 13.5 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS 3.0 NW Springfield 13.5 in 0800 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Sherman 12.2 in 0516 PM 02/03 Public Springfield 12.0 in 0550 PM 02/03 Official NWS Obs 2 W Riverton 11.7 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS 3 S Southern View 10.5 in 0541 PM 02/03 Mesonet Buffalo 9.0 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP 2 SE Auburn 8.3 in 0630 PM 02/03 Mesonet ...Schuyler County... Rushville 10.0 in 0457 PM 02/03 Mesonet ...Shelby County... Windsor 10.0 in 0630 AM 02/04 COOP 4 NW Mode 7.5 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Moweaqua 2 S 6.7 in 0600 AM 02/04 COOP 1.5 E Shelbyville 6.0 in 0900 AM 02/04 HADS ...Tazewell County... 3 SSE Germantown Hills 10.0 in 0800 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Pekin 3.6 SSE 9.7 in 0900 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Morton 1.0 S 9.1 in 0550 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Mackinaw 2NE 9.0 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP Morton 8.6 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP ...Vermilion County... Danville 15.0 in 0635 PM 02/03 Broadcast Media Georgetown 0.1 NNW 13.1 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Danville 11.6 in 0630 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Henning 3.4 SE 11.5 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS 3 W Bismarck 11.0 in 0800 AM 02/04 Mesonet Sidell 4N 9.6 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP Hoopeston 0.6 E 9.3 in 0500 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Danville 4.2 NW 8.0 in 0600 AM 02/04 COCORAHS 1.6 W Danville 6.0 in 0500 PM 02/03 COOP ...Woodford County... Minonk 14.0 in 1000 AM 02/04 COOP Roanoke 10.0 in 0700 AM 02/04 COOP Germantown Hills 0.5 SSW 9.1 in 0700 AM 02/04 COCORAHS Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official. $$
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Public Information Statement National Weather Service Lincoln IL 1044 AM CST Thu Feb 3 2022 ...FREEZING RAIN REPORTS... Location Amount Time/Date Lat/Lon Altamont 0.30 in 0115 PM 02/02 39.06N/88.75W 2 SE Auburn 0.20 in 1000 AM 02/02 39.57N/89.72W Ogden 0.20 in 0200 PM 02/02 40.11N/87.96W Effingham 0.15 in 1230 PM 02/02 39.12N/88.54W 1 NNW Billett 0.10 in 1212 AM 02/03 38.67N/87.66W Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official. $$
Meteorology
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| Radar imagery showing the transition from rain to wintry mix and then finally snow across northwest portions of the forecast area on the evening of Tuesday February 1. | Correlation coefficient from the KILX radar showing the distinctive line between snow, mixed wintry precipitation, and rain during the late evening of Feb 1. | February 2, 6 AM CST KILX weather balloon sounding from our office here in Lincoln, IL. This sounding reveals a deeply saturated layer all the way up to nearly 200 mb with all levels below 0 degrees Celsius. A good portion of this layer is situated in the dendritic growth zone, which supported snowflake development that morning. Strong winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere were signs of a strong jet, which assisted in synoptic scale lift for widespread precipitation. |
A strong cold front moved through the area on Tuesday February 1, stalling out near the I-70 corridor by the evening hours. Rain started falling ahead of the front Tuesday morning and continued into the early evening hours as the front moved toward I-70. An upper wave lifting north along the front Tuesday night into Wednesday morning paired with a coupled upper-level jet created plentiful lift and steep mid-level lapse rates. This resulted in a ripe environment for efficient snow production. Cold air filtered in on the backside of the cold front on Tuesday night and transitioned rain to a wintry mix, and then eventually snow from northwest to southeast. By the morning hours of Wednesday, February 2 several inches of snow had fallen mainly along and north of I-72, with light ice accumulations along and south of I-72. Precipitation remained mostly rain south of I-70. Additional snow fell through the morning and afternoon hours on Wednesday, February 2 before a brief lull in precipitation occurred by evening. By 6 PM CST on Wednesday, February 2, 10.6” had been observed in Peoria with 8.7” in Lincoln and 7.9” in Springfield.
The front remained stalled out near I-70 Wednesday night as a second upper wave tracked northward along it, bringing our next round of precipitation late in the night. Additional snow fell mainly along and east of I-55 going into Thursday, February 3, with a wintry mix well south of I-70 to start. Areas south of I-70 finally switched to snow by mid-morning on Thursday, continuing into the evening hours. Snow totals when all said and done at our 3 climate sites were as follows: 10.6" in Peoria, 12" in Springfield, and 11" in Lincoln.
Records set at our 3 climate sites (Peoria, Springfield, & Lincoln):
Photos
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| Drifts up to 6 ft in Stanford, IL (Photo by Patricia Becker) |
Champaign, IL Feb 2 (Photo by Kevin Lighty) |
Homer Lake, IL where 8.0" fell (Photo by Steve Hilberg) |
Ice and snow in Oconee, IL (Photo by Donja Small) |
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| Nearly a foot of snow in Canton, IL (Photo by Jared Mayall) |
Germantown Hills, IL (Photo by Stephanie Adams) |
Ice accumulation & heavy snow in Pana, IL (Photo by Sheri Grotts) |
Furry friend enjoying the snow in Lincoln, IL (Photo by Nicole Batzek) |
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| Chenoa, IL (Photo by Nikki Ruthenberg Jackson) |
Peoria, IL (Photo by Cathy Crusen Rose) |
Pekin, IL (Photo by Lola Arnett) |
Ice accumulation on trees Litchfield, IL (Photo by Nicole Scanlan Wilson) |
Additional Information
Service
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| Headline map with every one of our 35 counties in a Winter Storm Warning (NOTE - this is not current) | Timing of precipitation changes across the entire area issued during the afternoon of Feb 1 | Forecast snow amounts issued during the afternoon of Feb 1 | One of many informational graphics covering the conditions issued on the morning of Feb 2 |
Summaries from other NWS Offices
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Media use of NWS Web News Stories is encouraged! Please acknowledge the NWS as the source of any news information accessed from this site. |
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