The "Great Blue Norther" of November 11, 1911

One of the strongest cold fronts on record swept across the Midwest on November 11, 1911. Temperatures in parts of Illinois, Missouri, and Oklahoma fell 65 to 75 degrees following passage of the front. Oklahoma City and Springfield, MO, each set their record high AND low on the same day. In Janesville, WI, survivors of an F4 tornado were battling near blizzard conditions within an hour.


High temperature on November 11. Image from Midwestern Regional Climate Center.	Low temperature on November 12. Image from Midwestern Regional Climate Center.	Magnitude of temperature change. Image from NWS Des Moines, IA.

Here in Illinois, the cold front was accompanied by strong to severe thunderstorms. At least two tornadoes occurred in central Illinois in the late afternoon hours. The first one moved northeast through Cass County, and caused severe damage in Virginia, along with 12 injuries. In Mason County, a tornado in the northeast quarter of the county killed an infant and an elderly woman near Easton, and 9 other people were injured. There was also a strong tornado in northeast Illinois, moving from near Aurora to Naperville.

Peoria's temperature fell from 77 degrees to 17 degrees, and the next day's high was only 18. Springfield's high of 76 had fallen to 19 degrees by midnight and bottomed out at 13 degrees the next morning. Some climate statistics around the area:

Location	High on November 11	Low on November 12	Magnitude of Temperature Fall	Notes
Astoria	79	12	67 degrees	0.2 inches of snow
Bloomington	75	10	65 degrees	0.5 inches of snow
Charleston	75	14	61 degrees	0.5 inches of snow
Danville	75	14	61 degrees	0.4 inches of snow
Decatur	75	12	63 degrees	1 inch of snow
Effingham	74	15	59 degrees	Trace of snow
Flora	75	15	60 degrees	0.5 inches of snow
Havana	79	14	65 degrees	Tornado touchdown about 13 miles SE
Henry	77	13	64 degrees
Hoopeston	77	14	63 degrees	0.8 inches of snow
Jacksonville	78	12	66 degrees	Tornado touchdown about 12 miles NW 1 inch of snow
Lincoln	76	13	63 degrees	0.2 inches of snow
Minonk	76	12	64 degrees
Normal	75	10	65 degrees	0.5 inches of snow
Olney	80	16	64 degrees
Palestine	75	12	63 degrees	1 inch of snow
Peoria	77	12	65 degrees
Rushville	79	12	67 degrees
Springfield	76	13	63 degrees	0.2 inches of snow
Urbana	75	9	66 degrees	0.5 inches of snow
Windsor	77	13	64 degrees	1 inch of snow