A strong Alberta clipper dropped out of the northern Plains spreading snow across much of the region on January 6-7, 2010. Snow began across eastern Iowa during the afternoon of the 6th, before spreading east later in the evening. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 9 inches were common across much of eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois. However, accumulations were in the 2 to 5 inch range in southeast Iowa, western Illinois and extreme northeast Missouri. The highest total reported was 9.8 inches at Bertram in Linn county in eastern Iowa.
The system was mainly forced by the upper levels, where dynamics helped to organize the snow into heavier bands. With a weak surface reflection, winds were also relatively light during the snowfall. This, coupled with temperatures well below normal, yielded snow to liquid ratios in excess of 20:1, and in some cases greater than 25:1. The result was a light, fluffy, and very picturesque snow that piled up quickly. By the morning of the 7th, a dry slot had nosed into parts of the area south of Highway 34, bringing an end to accumulating snows until later in the day. This helped to hold final totals down across southeast Iowa, northeast Missouri and extreme western Illinois. With the system pulling off to the east later on the 7th, wrap around snows brought another inch or two of accumulations to some areas before tapering to flurries.

Winter Storm in PUTNAM, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 22:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 23:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 18:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

The official observer near the Quad City International Airport in Moline, Illinois measured 7.3 inches of snow.

Winter Storm in HANCOCK, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 19:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 21:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in HENDERSON, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 19:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 21:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in STEPHENSON, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 21:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 21:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Trained spotters measured 8.7 inches of snow 2 miles northeast of Freeport and 7.5 inches at Winslow.

Winter Storm in WARREN, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 20:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 22:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter near Monmouth measured 7.0 inches of snow.

Winter Storm in WHITESIDE, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 20:45:00 to 07-JAN-10 21:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Trained spotters measured 7.8 inches of snow at Rock Falls and 7.0 inches near Morrison.

Winter Storm in HENRY, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 20:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 21:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A COOP observer near Woodhull measured 8.0 inches of snow.

Winter Storm in JO DAVIESS, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 20:30:00 to 07-JAN-10 21:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A COOP observer measured 7.3 inches of snow at Galena.

Winter Storm in MCDONOUGH, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 19:40:00 to 07-JAN-10 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter measured 5.0 inches of snow near Macomb.

Winter Storm in MERCER, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 18:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 20:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter measured 6.9 inches of snow at Sherrard.

Winter Storm in BUREAU, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 21:00:00 to 07-JAN-10 22:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter measured 5.0 inches of snow near Princeton.

Winter Storm in CARROLL, ILLINOIS
From 06-JAN-10 20:15:00 to 07-JAN-10 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

A CoCoRaHS observer reported 6.5 inches of snow at Chadwick.