Heavy Snow — Jasper, Illinois

2021-02-14 to 2021-02-16 · Jasper, Illinois

Event narrative

Weather observers reported 9 to 11 inches of snow across Jasper County from the evening of February 14th through the morning of February 16th...including 10.6 6 miles north-northeast of Newton and 9.7 in Newton. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and hazardous roads.

Wider weather episode

Canadian high pressure anchored over the Northern Plains allowed an extremely cold airmass to filter southward into central Illinois on February 14th, resulting in afternoon high temperatures only reaching the single digits above zero everywhere north of the I-70 corridor. While the Arctic cold front responsible for the cold snap was stalled well to the south over the northern Gulf of Mexico, an upper-level disturbance interacted with a weak surface trough to produce a prolonged period of snow from the evening of February 14th through the morning of February 16th. Storm total snowfall was greatest east of the Illinois River, where amounts in excess of 5 inches were common. The highest snow totals of 8 to 12 inches were focused across east-central Illinois along and east of the I-57 corridor. Numerous traffic accidents occurred due to snow-covered and hazardous roadways.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 944619. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.