Cold/Wind Chill — Franklin, Illinois

2025-02-20 · Franklin, Illinois

Event narrative

One fatality occurred just west of the Rural King in West City when a man slipped into a pond and could not climb out. The official cause of death was drowning with hypothermia as a plausible alternative cause. The air temperature was around 13 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wider weather episode

A Siberian airmass and an area of high pressure allowed for an extended period of sub freezing temperatures that began on the 19th in the aftermath of a major snowstorm. A northwest wind between 6 to 11 mph and fresh snowpack allowed for wind chills between -5 to -10 beginning late at night into the morning hours of the 20th. The coldest wind chill of locally -11 occurred in Jackson and Saline County. Warming shelters were open in advance as southern Illinois experienced its most dangerous cold temperatures of the season. One fatality due to hypothermia occurred in West City in Franklin County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1234348. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.