Winter Storm — Mclean, Illinois

2006-12-01 · Mclean, Illinois

Event narrative

Declared state and federal disaster area. Snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches fell on top of significant ice accumulation. One man died in Downs while cleaning up tree debris brought down by the storm.

Wider weather episode

A major winter storm moved through the Midwest from November 29th into December 1st. Freezing rain moved into west central and central Illinois during the late hours of November 29th. The freezing rain mixed with and changed to heavy sleet, which persisted for 6 to 8 hours during the evening hours of November 30th. Ice accumulations ranged from 0.25 to 0.70 inches across much of central Illinois, with heavy sleet accumulations ranging from 0.50 to 2.20 inches. The precipitation changed over to snow across west central Illinois by the evening hours on November 30th and during the overnight hours across central Illinois. Snow accumulations along and west of the Illinois River valley ranged from 8 to 15 inches. Further east, 3 to 8 inches of snow was reported on top of the significant ice and sleet accumulations. The precipitation tapered off on December 1st.

Considerable tree and power line damage was caused by the ice and heavy snow, especially across central Illinois. The power was not restored across some locales for several days. The snow and ice covered roads also resulted in numerous vehicular accidents. 22 counties in the Central Illinois National Weather Service Forecast Area were designated a state disaster area and 18 counties were designated a federal disaster area.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 9423. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.