Ice Storm — Mercer, Illinois

2007-02-24 · Mercer, Illinois

Event narrative

A direct death occurred due to the ice storm when a 70 year old male in rural Joy, Illinois was struck by an ice-laden tree branch that fell on him. He was clearing branches from his driveway during the ice storm on February 24 when the branch struck him on the head. He was initially transported to the hospital and released, but later readmitted and he died a month later on March 23, 2007.

Wider weather episode

A 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. Ice accumulations of around one inch were common, with some reports to near two inches! To make matters worse, east winds gusting over 50 mph, combined with the heavy ice accumulation, brought down numerous tree branches and power lines, along with several thousand power poles. There were even whole trees crashing down from the weight of the ice. Widespread power outages occurred, affecting over 180,000 people, which lasted more than a week in some of the rural areas. Many shelters were opened to accommodate those without power. In the northern portions of the region in the colder air, snow was the problem. Accumulations of up to 7 inches occurred, with strong winds combining to create blizzard conditions. There was one direct death and one indirect serious injury due to the ice storm in northwest Illinois.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 15966. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.