EXPLAINER: March 2007 Archives

Mild moist air held over Illinois Saturday evening and tornado watches were in effect for much of northern and central Illinois, southern Wisconsin and extreme NW Indiana. By press time wind damage with gusts to 70 m.p.h. were reported in Kendall and DeKalb Counties in northeast Illinois. Two brief tornado touchdowns were sighted in SW Wisconsin. There were numerous hail and wind damage reports in Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa Saturday.

Seasonably mild readings will persist into Tuesday; however, by Tuesday night any "summery" feel to the air will most likely be history. Canadian high pressure reminiscent of January or February will force readings to plunge some 30 to 40° with Tuesday night's low temperature in the upper 30s expected to be Wednesday's high. Snow showers are in Chicago's forecast Wednesday night and Thursday with lake-effect snows possible in northern Indiana Thursday and Friday.

The weather of two seasons—late winter and late spring—is to visit Chicago Saturday and Saturday night. Mild spring air may be the last thing on Chicagoans’ minds much of Saturday, given the cool, damp winds off Lake Michigan much of the day. However, that’s just the sort of air mass expected to send temperatures noticeably higher in the city toward evening.
A northbound warm front is behind the predicted change. Its passage ushers 70s into southern suburbs by mid and late afternoon, even as readings remain mired in the upper 40s and low 50s on the Lake Michigan shoreline, especially along the North Shore communities north to Waukegan and Kenosha. As southerly winds take over behind the front this evening, moist 60° dew point air (reflecting Gulf Coast moisture levels) is to lend a decidedly more springlike feel—quite a change after a day of cool, raw winds off the lake.
The clock continues ticking toward March’s close Saturday night. The month is expected to wind up Chicago’s 14th mildest March in 137 years of official National Weather Service records.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

Thunderstorms, which towered up to ten miles into the atmosphere from west Texas north to South Dakota late Wednesday, unleashed dozens of twisters across sections of five states. It was one of the 2007 season’s most active outbreaks to date. The storms erupted along a meteorological feature familiar to Plains residents—the so-called dry line. It’s the demarcation between air sinking out of the Rockies (and drying in the process) and humid northbound Gulf air.
The presence of a steep vertical temperature decline and powerful, storm-spinning jet stream winds aloft set the stage for Wednesday’s violent weather.
As tornadoes raked the Plains, the same spring storm buried the Rockies under snow measured in feet from Utah north to Wyoming and Montana. Nearly 30” was down late Wednesday at Brian Head, Utah where the elevation is 9,700 ft.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

A gusty cold frontal passage sent Chicago area temps into a nosedive Tuesday ending an impressive early season mild spell. For three consecutive days, area temperatures had surged to 73° or higher, levels more typical of June. Three days with readings at such warm levels in March is something which has happened only three times here since 1871.
The warmth has helped establish this month as the 21st warmest March of the past 137 years with a temperature averaging 41.2°—5.3° above the long term average since 1871.
Chicagoans who left jackets at home Tuesday morning were surprised by the chill which greeted them as they headed home. Readings on the lakefront at Northerly Island fell 24° between noon and 1 p.m. In Milwaukee, Kenosha, Waukegan, Grayslake, the same front sent readings diving 17° in just five minutes late Tuesday morning. Winds surged from under 5 m.p.h. to 40 m.p.h. in gusts as cold air arrived.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

Spirits soar here each year with the arrival of the first really warm days which follow the seemingly endless chill of a long Chicago winter. The warmth of recent days has distinguished itself as being especially unusual. Of the 11,244 days with 70°-plus highs since weather observations began in 1929 at Midway Airport, only 84 have occurred any earlier. That’s less than 1 percent! Not only have each of the city’s 79° official highs the past two days established new records, Chicagoans haven’t been treated to readings as warm this early in the season since an 81° high on March 12, 1990.
Warmth wasn’t confined to Chicago: Records fell across sections of 16 states Monday—among them 72° at Duluth, Minn.; 63° at Marquette and 73° at Alpena, Mich.—noteworthy because of the proximity to 40° lake waters.
East winds shift off 43° Lake Michigan waters Tuesday, cooling and saturating warm, moist air here, producing lake fog and helping generate sporadic thunderstorms.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

Spring exploded in the Chicago area Sunday as highs surged into the upper 70s, aided by abundant sunshine and gusty southwest winds. The warmth covered the entire metropolitan region, including the lakefront where Northerly Island peaked at 77º.
The mercury officially reached 79º at O’Hare, shattering the old 1967 record of 75º and falling just one degree shy of the 80º plateau—a rare Chicago temperature benchmark in March, reached on only 10 days since 1871 (most recently on March 12, 1990, when it hit 81º). If highs on Monday top 77º, the city could break its third record high this month, capping a dramatic temperature reversal after March’s chilly opening.
The early season warmth helped fuel severe thunderstorms across the upper Midwest, where hail and high winds battered parts of western and central Wisconsin. One-inch-diameter hail pelted areas north of Madison near Portage while strong winds downed trees east of Minneapolis.
--By Steve Kahn, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

A developing spring storm, on a track to reach the Midwest Sunday, brought both heavy snow and twisters to Colorado Saturday. While Boulder residents were digging out from an 8"+ snowfall, several twisters were sighted less than 200 miles to the northeast near the Nebraska border.
Southerly winds ahead of the strengthening storm will send early-season warmth into the Midwest and also tap ample moisture. Severe storms are possible throughout northern Illinois Sunday, but Wisconsin appears to face the brunt of the severe weather threat. With many area streams and creeks already near or above flood stage, flooding potential here remains high.
Chicago area temps should reach the 70s both Sunday and Monday and above normal readings should continue the entire week, though a major cool-down looms as March prepares to exit next weekend.
--By Steve Kahn, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Fog slashed visibilities to fractions of a mile late Friday evening and continues as Saturday dawns. Its demise will be slow given the limited wind predicted Saturday, and the fact that the area is literally awash in moisture. Soils are saturated, preventing moisture from percolating below the surface; standing water is widespread, especially in southern sections where more rain fell Thursday night and Friday than typically falls in a full March; and many rivers are in flood. Though the current level of flooding is fairly modest, the onset of downpours—possible in the waves of thunderstorms predicted at times over the coming week-—could greatly aggravate the situation.
John Hazzard, who farms in Will County, says rains will have to stop for at least 10 days before spring planting can begin. Planting has started between April 18 and 28, he reports, over the past 10 years.
Rainfall Friday reached 3.41” at Muncie, Ind.; 3.13” at Chatsworth, Ill.; and 2.79” at Remington, Ind.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

Rain won’t be far from Chicago at any point in the coming seven days. Though rain won’t fall continuously—rainfree periods are a good bet in the coming week—with a nearly stationary warm front over NE Illinois, the atmospheric set-up threatens to build on March’s 1"+ rainfall surplus. Computer rainfall projections Thursday suggests totals in the coming week are likely to average 1.61" while two week totals may approach or locally exceed 3". Thundery downpours redeveloped late Thursday over central and northern Illinois beneath clouds which towered up to 40,000 ft. These storms threatened southern sections of the metro area with the most concentrated and heaviest rainfall overnight. Predawn t-storms Thursday pounded some areas with hail. Hailstones 1/2" in diameter pelted Midway Airport while 1" hail occurred in Joliet and Plainfield. Golfball-size hail dented cars in NW suburban Streamwood. --By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

Day turned to night over portions of the metro area late Wednesday as powerful thunderstorms—some nine miles high—unleashed lightning-peppered downpours and a barrage of hail on Chicago and many west and northern suburbs. The lightning pictured below was photographed looking north from the 44th floor of the John Hancock building. It struck near North Lake Shore Drive around 5:40 p.m. and was one of more than 660 cloud-to-ground lightning discharges to occur within 10 minutes inside a 225 mile radius of Chicago. Wednesday’s severe weather—the first here of 2007—followed the second 70° temperature this year at Midway Airport. Kankakee County’s Bonfield was the area’s warmest at 79°. Late Wednesday, authorities responded to motorists trapped by flooding on Rt. 41 near Knollwood in Lake County Illinois. Rain Wednesday reached 2.01” at northwest suburban Woodstock, 1.46” at Algonquin and 1.37” in Arlington Heights. --By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

Downpour-generating, Chicagobound thunderstorms towered more than 6 miles into the atmosphere over Kansas and Missouri late Tuesday. The storms, which threaten to unleash 1-2"+ rains here, swamped Wichita, Kan. with 2.21" Tuesday. Converging ground level winds along the same vigorous warm front expected to sweep across the metro area later this morning, will help instigate such storms. Temps soared in the Plains south and west of those storms Wednesday. A record high of 83° was set at Rapid City, S.D. while Chadron, Neb. reported 80°. Powerful SSW winds follow the warm front’s passage here Wednesday afternoon, gusting at times to 40+ m.p.h. This first full day of spring will feel the part once these winds take hold. The powerful winds are expected to reach more than a thousand miles from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Woods region of upstate Wisconsin late today. --By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

The sun’s most direct rays fall on the equator at 7:07 p.m. Tuesday evening marking the astronomical start of spring. Unfortunately, in few ways will Tuesday feel very springlike here in Chicago. Chilly air has returned with the onset of northeast winds. It’s a development not uncommon in March. Winds blow off Lake Michigan 37% of the time this month. Using history as a guide, winds in April and May will blow from the east 46% and 49% of the time respectively. But the city’s weather news isn’t all bad. A northbound warm front, situated over Oklahoma and Arkansas as Tuesday dawns, is to sweep north, passing Chicago Wednesday. Thundery downpours are likely to erupt. But the south winds it ushers into Chicago promise a temperature and humidity surge expected to lend the atmosphere the “feel” of spring Wednesday into Thursday-including a 20°+ temperature jump. --By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

Cool high pressure pushes into northeast Illinois today—and even with the sun Tuesday, temperatures will be below normal, especially along the lakefront where readings could fail to reach 40° due to a persistent east-to-northeast wind off the cold Lake Michigan waters.
The Vernal Equinox occurs Tuesday, marking the start of astronomical spring in Chicago—and it seems that the metro area was just waiting for that event. A significant warm-up will begin Wednesday, and unseasonably mild readings are forecast the remainder of this week through next weekend. Along with the higher temperatures, showers or thunderstorms will be mentioned in the forecast almost daily.
Meanwhile, it will take a while to warm up over the extensive snow cover left in the wake of the St. Patrick’s Day storm in the Northeast, and also much of the north-central U.S. where an additional 3 to 8 inches of snow was forecast Sunday night.
--By Paul Dailey, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Following the Vernal Equinox on Tuesday, a return to predominantly southerly wind flow will bring another spring-like 30-degree temperature swing to the Chicago area, pushing readings temporarily back to mid-May levels Thursday and Friday accompanied by a significant increase in humidity. To start the week, a band of rain will spread over northeast Illinois later tonight and diminish Monday morning as the triggering cold front moves east. After about a 36-hour cool, dry period, a warm front Wednesday is expected to trigger an all-day rain that could feature thundery downpours. With the warm front to the north, a warm humid air mass will be in place over the area. Thursday and Friday daytime high temperatures could warm into the 70s; but with a cold front slowly approaching from the west, the amount of cloud cover and the possibility of showers or thunderstorms will influence readings considerably.
--By Paul Dailey, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

St. Patrick’s Day is off to a cooler than usual start in Chicago. Normal March 17 highs reach 47°—but today’s readings are likely to end up nearly 10 degrees lower. Light NNE winds and more rapid than usual vertical temperature declines in the lowest mile of the atmosphere set the stage for possible lake-effect snow flurries.
However, any snowflakes here Saturday pale in comparison to the mammoth accumulations which have hit the East Coast. Going into this winter’s latest storm there, Boston had only recorded 6” of snow—just 17% of normal—while the seasonal tally in New York City as flakes began falling mid-morning Friday was 7”—only a third of normal. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa., where 60s occurred just days ago, was on its way to 12 continuous hours of heavy snowfall late Friday evening. Snowfalls could reach 30” in the hardest-hit areas of upstate New York.
In stark contrast was Phoenix, Ariz.’s record 99° Friday—its hottest reading so early in the year.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

Snow covered the ground as Thursday dawned in northwest Indiana—a radical change from 70s only a day before. But even more jarring weather changes threaten residents out East Friday into Saturday as a rapidly intensifying late-winter storm bears down on the area. As a slushy, travel-snarling and occasionally heavy mix of snow, sleet and rain sweeps into areas from Philadelphia north to New York City and Boston, areas just west are to trade Thursday’s unseasonable 60s for a foot or more of wet snow. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Penn., where highs hit 67° Wednesday, could see an 11-13” snow accumulation while Albany, N.Y., with a 65° Wednesday high, appears headed for 12-16” of snow.
Chicagoans shivered through a 38° high Thursday—35 degrees off Wednesday’s record 73° at O’Hare. But, record-tying 82° warmth headlined the weather Thursday at Richmond, Va., while Myrtle Beach, S.C., hit 74°. Out West, Phoenix, Ariz., reached 92°—its second record high in a row.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

Tuesday’s shirt-sleeve temperatures (73º at O’Hare and 74º at Midway—record high temperatures for the date at both locations) are a fading memory as the arrival of cold Canadian air reminds us that this is, after all, March. And yet an additional reality check: Wet snow (mixed with rain) put down a slushy layer in a few places Wednesday night—lingering as spits of flurries into today’s early morning hours. And while Chicago’s temperatures were collapsing from the 50s into the 30s on Wednesday, pre-cold frontal readings surged downstate. Afternoon temperatures peaked at 78º at Champaign and Decatur, record highs for the date at both location. Below-normal readings persist for the remainder of the week, but a strong warm-up carries temperatures back well above normal by the middle of next week, along with the prospect of a wetter weather regime. --By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Canadian air arrives today, abruptly ending Chicago’s brief flirtation with spring warmth. Tuesday’s temperatures surged into the 70s across the area, and records tumbled. The mercury peaked at a record-shattering 73º officially at O’Hare, thereby establishing a new record high for the day -- and it was Chicago’s highest reading in 160 days (since 76º last Oct. 4).
Unseasonable early-spring warmth, pleasant though it is, always carries the possibility of severe thunderstorms, and that risk looms for areas immediately to the south and east of the city area today as a strong cold front sweeps in.
Yesterday’s temperatures reminded us that spring is just around the corner, but yet another reminder comes from dermatologist Dr. Bryan Schultz, who informs us that yesterday’s sunshine was powerful enough to cause sunburn after 41 minutes of exposure during the early afternoon sun peak.

--By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Chicago’s high temperature was 24º exactly one week ago, and nighttime readings were in the teens—but that is a fading memory as today’s temperatures head toward record-setting warmth. And we’re not alone: This early-spring mild spell sent yesterday’s temperatures into the 80s as far north as the Dakotas, and the intermountain West is mild as well. It’s a testament to the changeable nature of the nation’s spring climate. While welcome here, the warmth is not without its problems elsewhere. High temperatures, low humidity and 40 m.p.h. Santa Ana winds have sparked wildfires in the Los Angeles area. Locally, brisk southwesterly winds today will be sufficient to overcome the possibility of lakeside cooling—always a consideration on exceptionally mild early-spring days—so today’s record-high temp is expected to prevail right down to the icy waters of Lake Michigan. --By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

In any given winter, the coldest month of the season is invariably either December, January or February, and a computer sweep of the 136 Chicago winters (1870-71 through 2005-06) confirms it.
Most often, January is the season’s coldest month (it was the coldest month in 72 winters out of 136, or 53 percent of them); February comes in second (39 winters, or 29 percent) and December ranks third (23 winters, or 17 percent).
But that’s not the whole story. Surprisingly, March—which we consider to be a spring month—was the “winter’s” coldest month during the cold seasons of 1889-90 and 1931-32.
It certainly won’t happen again this year (February was so cold), but it is worth noting that Chicago’s winters don’t always play by the rules.
Jumping to the present, this March has another surprise in store: Temperatures surge into the 60s early this week, then crash into the teens later in the week.
--By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

The transition into Spring is under way with an early time change (set clocks ahead one hour today) and the end of astronomical winter now in sight (Spring Equinox is March 20). Huge swings in high temperatures are expected to occur during the week ahead with readings varying as much as 30°. Southwest winds will usher in a big warm up early in the week with high temps Sunday through Wednesday averaging well over 10° above normal. Tuesday should be the warmest day with only extensive cloudiness and a threat of showers holding readings from reaching into the 70s. A cold front will settle south and split the Chicago area Wednesday with a huge temp range from the lower 40s north of the front to perhaps the lower 70s south. Thursday should mark the changeover to cold over the entire area with highs the last two days of the week averaging better than 10° colder than normal.
--By Paul Dailey, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

As a cold front moves east, high pressure builds into northern Illinois today. Despite northwest winds, sunny skies should allow high temperatures to reach readings nearly 5 degrees above normal. The center of high pressure is expected to drift slowly east the next few days, reaching Ohio and Pennsylvania Monday and shifting off the East Coast later Tuesday.
Southerly winds flowing up the backside of the high are forecast to intensify Monday, tapping warm air in the southern and central Plains, pushing readings toward the 60° mark as far north as Chicago. Southwesterly flow is to continue Tuesday with further warming over Illinois, but an increase in mid and high-level clouds and rain later in the day will probably keep highs from reaching 70°.
Heavy rains are expected to be confined to the Gulf Coast states as low pressure in that area restricts the northward surge of moisture.
--By Paul Dailey, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Following February’s persistent chill, Chicagoans anxious for a hint of mild spring temperatures are about to have their expectations satisfied, at least for a few days. Lingering snow cover will retard the warm-up slightly because heat energy needed to melt snow has to come from the air. Fortunately, snow depths south of Chicago, the direction from which milder air will be approaching, are minimal—generally 1-3”—and that snow will disappear quickly today. That opens the door to higher temperatures still when the next strong warm surge arrives Monday and Tuesday. Today’s expected high temperature, 53º, will be the highest reading logged here in 67 days—since the official thermometer at O’Hare International Airport registered 56º on Dec. 31. Looking ahead, present indications suggest a return to much colder temperatures beginning Thursday of next week. --By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Tornadoes can occur year around, but the U.S. tornado season usually first gathers strength in January and February across southeastern states (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.) Then, as spring arrives and milder temperatures overtake the Great Plains and Midwest, the peak of tornado activity shifts to those regions. Coincident with the arrival of milder and more humid air, March through June constitutes the Illinois tornado season. The nation’s worst tornado disaster, the Great Tri-State Tornado of March 18, 1925, killed 695 people as it rampaged from Missouri across southern Illinois into southwest Indiana. Intense thunderstorms produce tornadoes, but thunderstorms draw their energy from mild, moist air, without which they rarely become severe. And that’s the hidden benefit of a cold March: No severe thunderstorms and no tornadoes. --By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Chicago temperatures slipped below normal last Jan. 28, and the city’s run of sub-normal readings has continued in practically uninterrupted fashion since then. In fact, we experienced above-normal temperatures on only eight days during the 38-day period from Jan. 28 through yesterday. Tuesday’s afternoon maximum temperature—a frigid 24º—was 18º below the day’s normal high of 42º and the coldest March 6 since 22º was logged on today’s date in 1960. Temperatures continue below normal through tomorrow, but a major weather pattern change locks into place by Friday and that change signals the demise of the city’s extended cold spell. Readings hold in the 30s today and Thursday but break well into the 40s Friday, Saturday and Sunday—and that’s only the beginning. The warm-up strengthens: Highs Monday surge into the 50s, and to about 60º on Tuesday. --By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Winter must eventually yield to the inexorable arrival of spring—it always does—but for Chicagoans waiting impatiently for mild temperatures, it’s happening at a maddeningly slow pace this year. At long last, there is some good news: Computer models indicate a major weather pattern change, albeit a gradual one, that offers the prospect of significantly milder temperatures in upcoming days. Before that happens, however, we will have to endure another shot of cold and snow, this time in the form of an “Alberta Clipper” weather system—so called because it will sweep from Alberta, Canada, southeast across the Midwest. Increasingly cloudy skies today announce the approach of the clipper, and light snow begins by evening. An inch or two is likely before the system retreats to the east early Wednesday. Temperatures moderate slightly on Thursday, and warming arrives in earnest by Friday. --By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Chicago’s winters—even the mild ones—are long enough, cold enough and stormy enough that most of us are anxious for the arrival of spring by the time the calendar flips into March. In fact, meteorologists consider March to be the first month of spring.
And when we have endured a February as cold as the one just ended (with an average temperature of 17.9º at O’Hare Airport, it was the coldest since 1979 and the 11th coldest out of 137 on record), we’re even more anxious for the first hint of mild temperatures.
Our forecast data continues to tease us with the prospect of a significant warm-up later this week, and a 50° reading cannot be ruled out for Friday. But before that, we have to endure another round of light snow late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, the product of a weak storm system that will sweep rapidly southeastward across the area.
--By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Chicago’s long bout with late winter cold and snow may finally be showing some signs of breaking down. However, before milder conditions move in, the city will have to endure one more reinforcing shot of cold and light snow in the early part of the upcoming week. The first chink in the cold’s armor will come on Wednesday as southerly winds send highs toward the 40º mark. But the real break in the cold should arrive by Friday as expected highs reach the lower 50s bringing the city its mildest weather since New Year’s Eve.
Forty-six years ago today on March 4, 1961, Chicago’s South Side was reeling from a major tornado that raced through the area at speeds approaching 50 m.p.h. Temperatures surged into the 70s just south of the city in advance of this twister, but in typical, volatile March fashion, just four days later on March 8 heavy,wet snow blasted Chicago as a strong low pressure system passed through the Ohio Valley.

--By Steve Kahn, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Airborne snow riding the highest winds here in over a year Friday slashed visibilities to near zero in open areas surrounding the city. For 17 consecutive hours, wind sensors at O’Hare registered 30+ m.p.h. gusts, including a peak gust of 43 m.p.h. A 50 m.p.h. gust at Midway Airport 2:31 p.m. Friday afternoon was the site’s strongest in 14 months. The Harrison-Dever crib three miles offshore clocked gusts as high as 58 m.p.h.
While snow fell heavily enough to slash visibilities below 1/4 mile with some regularity, accumulations—challenging to determine in such a wind-whipped environment—totaled just 0.8” at Midway and 0.6” at O’Hare. It was another world to the west and north. Snow totals had reached 25” at Finland, Minn., (near Duluth) late Friday. Bayfield, Wis., registered 21.5”, and Lake Superior ice had piled into 25-foot high mounds in the howling winds at Duluth where 19.4” was tallied.
By contrast, Melbourne, Fla.’s 92° shattered a March 2 record. Other record highs occurred Friday at Vero Beach (91°) and Orlando (89°) in Florida.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

Howling west winds—40 m.p.h. and stronger at times Friday—propel waves of snow across the area, reinstating a wintry chill in the process. Gone are the 50° highs which reached Pontiac and Gary and the 48° observed briefly at Midway Airport. Bursts of thundery rain left 1.09" at O’Hare, the most ever on a March 1 here.
Friday’s gales here are tied to the latest winter storm to rake the Heartland and fall short of the 66 m.p.h. gusts which accompanied its white-out snowfall in Duluth last evening. Minneapolis, where snow is to fall into Friday night, though at a slower pace, sat beneath 12" of snow late Thursday. In western Iowa and eastern Nebraska, where Omaha’s winds reached 57 m.p.h. Thursday, up to 16" of new snow had fallen.
The storm’s southern flank proved especially vicious, spawning at least 22 twisters. A brief touchdown was reported west of Champaign in Macon County.