February 14-20, 2001:

The week of February 14-20 started with the establishment of a large upper air trough in the Southwest (Figure 10). This configuration allowed for a storm passing eastward across the southern Rockies to tap Gulf of Mexico moisture and bring prodigious rains to locations along its path. Heavy rains fell on February 14-16 in southern Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and totals in Kentucky exceeded two inches in most locations (Figure 11). The storm also brought severe weather to areas south of the Midwest. However, the effects of the low pressure system did not extend too far north into the central and northern Midwest. Most of the northwestern half of the Midwest received well below normal amounts of precipitation for the week (Figure 12). Only some snow on the northern edge of the major system kept Iowa from being totally dry (Figure 13), while a clipper system with some lake-effect activity late in the period brought a little more snow to the Great Lakes region. Unlike the storm in the previous week, the flat west-east trajectory failed to bring much warm air to the Midwest, which was well below normal in temperature in the western states of the region (Figure 14). The period ended with a dry but intensely frigid cold front passing through the region.

The passage of this low marked the third major rain producing system to reach the area in three weeks: January 29-30, February 8-10, and February 14-16. The status of drought in southern Missouri and Kentucky has been alleviated by the latest rain event, and some major rivers like the Illinois and Wabash are still above flood stage in places. After worrying on and off about drought for the last two springs, it is now beginning to be a concern to farmers that the spring could be cooler and wetter than would be ideal for early planting of row crops.