Extreme Cold/Wind Chill — Peoria, Illinois

2017-12-30 to 2017-12-31 · Peoria, Illinois

Event narrative

An 86-year old woman fell outside of her home and died of hypothermia in Peoria on December 30th. Temperatures were in the single digits above zero while wind-chill readings ranged from -10F to -15F at the time of her fall. The woman was rushed to the hospital: however, she was later pronounced dead.

Wider weather episode

An Arctic cold front plunged through central Illinois on December 29, 2017...setting the stage for a prolonged period of extremely cold conditions from December 30, 2017 through January 2, 2018. The coldest temperatures occurred on the early morning of January 2 when readings bottomed out between -10F and -15F along and north of the I-74 corridor. Wind-chill values through the period generally ranged from -15F to -25F. As a result of the cold, two elderly women died of hypothermia. One woman passed away on December 30 in Peoria, while the other died on December 31 in Champaign.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 731223. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.