Heavy Snow in Stark, Illinois

Weather observers reported in excess of 6 inches of snow across Stark County, including 6 to 8 inches near the town of Speer. The heavy snow led to dangerous road conditions and several traffic accidents.

A 996mb low over western Oklahoma during the evening of January 11th deepened to 981mb as it tracked northeastward into Michigan by the evening of January 12th. Light rain developed across much of central Illinois initially...with heavy wet snow occurring along and north of a Keokuk, Iowa...to Peoria...to Pontiac line. With elevated instability increasing, scattered convection developed as well....with thundersnow being observed at Altona in Knox County. As the low tracked between the I-55 and I-57 corridors during the day of January 12th, enough warm air was drawn northward to change the wet snow over to a period of rain. Storm total snowfall of 6 to 10 inches was observed across portions of Knox, Stark, and Marshall Counties.