Historic Weather Events

It is often joked that if you don’t like the weather around here, wait a couple days and it will be change.  Throughout the years, Mattoon has seen some historic meteorological events.  Here are some of the most notable.

The Deep Snow

The winter of 1830-31 was one of great severity.  It is often referred to the winter of deep snow.  From two to four feet covered the ground across Illinois for much of the season.  Snow fell continuously from November thru late January.  The season was unusually cold and settlers were generally poorly protected form the elements.

Three men were found frozen to death after attempting to cross the prairie on horseback.  The ground was covered in deep snow and the air was piercingly cold.  In a desperate attempt to save their own lives, they killed their horses and used their body’s for warmth.  Before relief reached them they succumbed to the “Icy King of Terrors”.

In late February, a warm spell came and quickly melted the snow, covering the ground with water.  The temperature made a quick reversal and a continuous glare of ice was the result.  People were stranded as horses and oxen could not get a sure footing on the ice.

Meteoric Shower

November 12, 1833 saw one of the most remarkable weather phenomenons ever to occur.  It was known as the night of the “Falling Stars”.  Mr. Tremble gives a stirring account of the night in the 1879 Coles County History book.  “It was 3am when I stepped out the cabin door and saw a sight that utterly bewildered me for a moment.  All the stars seemed to be falling form the sky.” 

Returning to the cabin, he aroused the family and assured them that the Day of Judgment had come.  The air was so full of falling drops of fire that immediately expired as they neared the ground.  Many of them came in contact with trees, and burst, throwing off a myriad of sparks and illuminating the forest.

The seen from the prairie was even grander.  A rain of fire drops come down always expiring just before they hit the ground.  The storm of fire continued until the break of day.  The light caused it to gradually disappear in the morning sun.

Sudden Freeze

This unexplained event happened the 20th day of December 1836.  The day had been rather warm and a slight mist was in the air.  During the afternoon, a dark cloud rapidly approached from the northwest.  As it passed over the county, everything was frozen in its tracks almost instantly.  Water that filled the streams was blown into small waves by the wind and froze before it could settle.

Cattle, horses, hogs and wild animals were soon frozen in their tracks.  Unless they were moving about, their feet froze to the ground in the mud and slush that was quickly freezing.

If a person was unable to reach shelter, they undoubtedly perished.  In one instance a man was found frozen in the mud still clutching the reigns of his frozen horse.  He had apparently became bewildered and chilled, and freezing so fast, he remained standing.

The phenomenon continued eastward until reaching Cincinnati, Ohio around 9:00 that evening.  The storm affected Illinois as far north as Ottawa and just beyond Coles County to the south.  The origin was never determined as the West was thinly settled.

1864 Tornado

September 23, 1864, Mattoon was stricken by a tornado.  It was accounted for in the next week’s paper. “Dense reddish clouds made their appearance around three o’clock, and in less then ten minutes the storm burst upon us in the wildest fury, tearing down awnings, blowing down buildings and scattering about everything movable.  The flying dust was so thick and the darkness so great, that one might imagine that the very clouds had descended to the earth and lifted away every particle loose earth…”

The Essex house lost all its chimneys and two-thirds of iron roof, exposing upper floor to rain; the Dole Brothers building lost several feet of wall and new brick was damaged; the M. E. Church lost several square feet of roof and rafters; manufacturing smoke stacks were blown down; and many houses were leveled or damaged.

1917 Tornado

A half-mile wide tornado hit north side of Mattoon at 3:26 p.m. on May 26, 1917 accompanied with 7 ½” hail & rain.  It killed 64 persons and inured 467 others; destroyed 496 homes, 4 industrial plants, 3 churches, and 4 schools; partially destroyed 143 houses; and damaged 200 other houses.  The same winds struck Charleston's north side a few minutes later, leaving about half as many fatalities as in Mattoon.

The storm system, containing several tornadoes, traveled almost 300 miles in seven hours from the Mississippi River to Jennings County, Indiana, leaving a wake of destruction, and was ultimately responsible for 101 deaths.  

Due to the rapid and efficient work of numerous relief agencies. Mattoon rallied remarkably from the effects of the storm. Within two years all damaged areas had been rebuilt.  This is undoubtedly the most significant and most written about meteorological event in Mattoon history.

1926 Flood

September 26, 1926, 7.35 inches of rain fell in Mattoon.  There were miniature floods in all sections of town.  Cars stalled in intersections where the water reached the engine compartment.

Men carried women and children across 14th Street and Broadway where water was reported 18 inches deep.  The water was up to the entrances of the businesses along Broadway.  The interurban ceased operations and mail had to be brought from Mattoon to Charleston by motor truck.

The fire department was called to pump water out of the theater, Lumpkin building and Mattoon Ice Cream and Dairy Company.  600 telephones were out of order due to water penetrating the cable wires.  Passengers had to be carried from the trains across the platform at the Illinois Central Depot.

There was 2 feet of water in the basement of Lincoln School.  Benches were taken from the auditorium and placed across 17th street to form a bridge across the waters so children could cross.

1954 Drought

The most severe drought on record was that of the summer of 1954.  Temperatures were still recorded over 100 degrees in the first two weeks of September. 

Many can remember the water level of Lake Paradise dropping to historic lows.  The lakebed was so hard and cracked a car could be driven across it.  It was this drought that prompted Mattoon to build Lake Mattoon to avoid water shortages in the future.

1957 Flood

6.39 inches of rain inundated the community on June 28, 1957.  The sewage treatment plant was completely flooded and residents were urged to use sewage and water facilities as little as possible.

The road below the Lake Paradise dam had been completely washed out.  Witness reported at least on boat going over the Paradise dam.

Other area towns saw as much as 10 inches of rain. The storm was the remains of Hurricane Audrey that hit the Gulf Coast earlier that week.

Blizzard of 1977

The temperature went from 29 degrees above to 20 below.  Wind chills of 75 degrees below zero represented a 100-degree differential of temperatures.  45 mile per hour winds diminished visibility to near zero.  It was January 28, 1977.

Every road in Coles County was ordered closed by the sheriff.  Route 16 was drifted shut at I-57.  State police cars blocked the interstate ramps. The mall parking lot was reported full of stranded trucks.

The Illinois Central Gulf railroad ran an engine and caboose to bring home employees stranded at Donnelly’s, deliver insulin to a patient in Humboldt, and pick up stranded motorists between Mattoon and Champaign. 

The Holiday Inn reported all of their rooms were full and some persons were staying in the lobby.  The Free Methodist Church was opened to accommodate stranded motorists and persons without heat in their homes.

1977 Tornado – Lake Mattoon

Sunday, August 21, 1977, around 1pm, two tornados came from the sky and descended on Lake Mattoon.  In a few short minutes, six were killed and 56 injured in an area one quarter mile wide by one half mile long. 

The injured were treated at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health center and St. Anthony’s Hospital in Effingham.  Nine critically wounded patients were transferred to Burnham City Hospital in Champaign.  The American Legion in Neoga and the L & K motel in Mattoon served as temporary shelters for the homeless victims.

Most of the damage occurred in Prahl’s Trailer court and Erwin’s Lakeview Subdivision.  45 mobile homes were destroyed.  Debris littered the lake, many boats and docks were sunk, and utility poles were thrown about like matchsticks.  One cove was cluttered so badly, it would have been impossible to get a boat in or out.

1998 Tornado

In the early morning hours of March 28, 1998, Mattoon was struck by another tornado. The twister bounced across town leaving a quarter mile wide path of destruction.  When it was over, six businesses and eight homes were destroyed, 92 other homes were damaged, 20 of which were with significant damage, and three injuries were reported.

The storm touched down at approximately 5:25 a.m. Saturday cutting a path one-fourth of a mile wide and nearly a mile long from Rudy Avenue and 19th Street to Ninth St. and Charleston Ave. Wind speeds reached as high as 152 m.p.h.

It was unusual that the tornado struck early in the morning because tornadoes normally strike at the warmest point in the day.  It was also at the back end of a storm instead of the front.  The storm was weakening when the twister hit.

There had been a tornado watch in the area but it was allowed to expire at 5:00 a.m.  There were no spotters in the field, as a result, no sirens were sounded and no warning was given.

1999 Flood

June 2, 1999, 4.1 inches of rain fell in Mattoon in a very short period of time.  The amount of water was more then the banks of the Kickapoo Creek could handle.  Close to 100 homes were damaged by floodwaters. 

Residents in the East Rudy Place apartments said at least 19 inches of water flooded the streets, yards and apartments. Many of the residents waded out in knee-high to waist-high floodwaters, but some, mostly small children, were evacuated in boats.  42 residences were evacuated in East Rudy Place and another 20 in the South Lawn area.

A Red Cross shelter was set up at the First Presbyterian Church. About eight or nine people stayed the night, but most made other arrangements, either going to local motels or staying with friends and relatives

2003 Snow Rollers

Unique weather conditions on February 12, 2003 caused snow to form into rolls resembling “hand muffs” or “jelly rolls”.  There was a wet heavy snow on top of a layer of ice when the temperatures quickly dropped and the winds picked up to close to 50 mph.   It is these three ingredients required to create the “snow roller phenomenon.

Once the initial "seed" of the roller is started, it begins to roll.  It collects additional snow from the ground as it rolls along, leaving trails behind it.  The appearance is similar to building snowmen, except the snowball is more log-shaped rather than spherical, and many times they are hollow.  They can be as small as a golf ball, or as large as a 30-gallon drum, but typically they are about 10 to 12 inches in diameter.

It is said that snow rollers occur about once every 50 years in this area.  However, even the eldest in the community could never remember seeing such an occurrence.