Heavy Snow in Mclean, Illinois

Weather observers measured between 6 and 10 inches of snow across McLean County, including 7.2 inches 3 miles northeast of Bloomington and 9.0 inches in Normal. The heavy snowfall along with significant blowing and drifting caused numerous road closures and traffic accidents across the county. A 71 year-old man from Bloomington died of a heart attack after shoveling the snow.

An Arctic cold front pushed through central Illinois from the evening of January 4th into the afternoon of January 5th. Snow developed behind the front across the Illinois River Valley during the evening of January 4th, then became widespread across the entire area on January 5th as low pressure tracked northeastward along the boundary. Moderate to heavy snow fell throughout the day of January 5th before gradually tapering off and coming to an end by evening. The snow was accompanied by gusty winds, which created significant blowing and drifting snow. Total accumulations generally ranged from 6 to 10 inches across all of central and southeast Illinois: however, thundersnow brought enhanced totals of 10 to 14 inches to portions of Christian, Effingham, Cumberland, and Clark counties. As a result of the heavy snow, all Illinois state government offices closed for January 6th. Many schools, businesses, and churches were shut down as well. Hundreds of traffic accidents occurred across the area, with around 100 vehicles becoming stranded along I-57 near both Mattoon and Neoga. Around 100 vehicles were stranded on I-70 across Cumberland County and 19 were stranded on I-74 near Champaign. All primary roads including state and U.S. highways were closed east of I-57 and most were shut down west of I-57 as well. More than 50,000 people lost power during the storm and Amtrak was forced to cancel several trips due to snow drifting across train tracks. One person died as a result of a heart attack from shoveling the snow on January 5th.