Blizzard — Cumberland, Illinois

2016-02-24 · Cumberland, Illinois

Event narrative

Weather observers across Cumberland County reported snowfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches. Winds gusting to between 45 and 55 mph created whiteout conditions from 1000 to 1400 CST. Snow-covered roads and poor visibility due to falling and blowing snow contributed to numerous traffic accidents across the county, especially on I-57. A fatal traffic accident occurred on IL-130 south of Greenup when a semi truck collided with another vehicle. A 57 year-old male in the vehicle was killed. In addition, many trees and power lines were blown down, resulting in scattered power outages.

Wider weather episode

A powerful winter storm system impacted parts of central and southeast Illinois on February 24th, bringing snow and strong winds. Low pressure tracked from east Texas during the evening of February 23rd to Ohio by the evening of the 24th. This particular track focused the heaviest precipitation across east-central Illinois, mainly east of the I-55 corridor. Snowfall amounts generally ranged from 3 to 6 inches: however, very strong northerly winds gusting as high as 45 to 55 mph created blizzard conditions for several hours. Considerable blowing and drifting snow reduced visibility to less than 1/4 mile at times, and caused numerous traffic accidents. One person died in Cumberland County as a result of a collision with a semi truck.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 618535. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.