Remembering the January 1999 Major Snowstorm -- 25 Years Later

[Hoosier]

I always feel like the anniversary sneaks up on me, probably because it's at the beginning of the year.  

25 years.  Wow.  In some ways it seems like 25 years ago but in other ways it seems like less time has passed.  This was a special storm for some of us, so please share your memories, pics, etc. 

Radar loop, courtesy of greatlakes.salsite.com

 

[Hoosier]

[Hoosier]

A couple things this storm is known for is the large area of significant snow and the heavy snow amounts that occurred east of the surface low track.  There was plenty of antecedent cold air in place across the region, and then as that started to erode, the system began to occlude, shunting the warm sector away.  Normally you're not going to see those kinds of snow amounts east of the surface low, especially in this part of the country which lacks legit mountains to assist with CAD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hoosier]

ILLINOIS STATE FORECAST DISCUSSION

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL

300 AM CST FRI JAN 1 1999

 

WHAT A MESS TO WALK INTO AFTER HOLIDAY LEAVE

 

TIMING OF ONSET OF PRECIP, LOCATION OF ANY FREEZING PRECIP,

CONVERSION OF WATCHES TO WARNINGS, SNOW AMOUNTS, AMONG THE

CHALLENGES.

 

MODELS NOT EXACTLY IN GREAT AGREEMENT WITH NGM BECOMING THE

SLOWEST, BY 6-12 HOURS, AT THE FAR END OF THE 00Z MODEL RUNS.

SLOWER NGM ALLOWS WARMER AIR TO PUSH FARTHER NOTABLY NORTH

AND WOULD INCREASE THE THREAT OF EXCESSIVE SNOWS (UPWARDS OF

A FOOT) TOWARD CHICAGO.  WHILE IT IS FAR FROM CERTAIN SINCE

WE ARE STILL WAITING ON SYNCHRONIZING OF NORTHERN AND

SOUTHERN STREAM SYSTEMS DURING THIS FORECAST PERIOD, WILL

LEAN TOWARD THE FASTER AVN AND ETA SOLUTIONS.  THIS NEVER

REALLY ALLOWS TEMPS AT ANY LEVEL OVER NORTHEAST IL TO GET

MUCH ABOVE -10.  EXCESSIVE SNOWFALLTHREAT THEN SHIFTS

SOUTHWARD INTO THE QUINCE-KANKAKEE TO BELLEVILLE-TERRE HAUTE

CORRIDOR.

 

AS DISCUSSED WITH PAH...THREAT OF SIGNIFICANT ICING NEAR OHIO

RIVER IS DIMINISHED EVEN WITH THE FASTER/COLDER ETA/AVN.

HOWEVER AS COLD AS SURFACE TEMPS ARE, A SHORTER ICE EVENT

REMAINS A GOOD POSSIBILITY AND FOR NOW WILL MAINTAIN LATE

FIRST PERIOD WATCH. SEE GREATER THREAT OF ICE FOR 50-75 MILES

SOUTH OF ABOVE NOTED EXCESSIVE SNOW BAND.

 

MANUAL HEAVY SNOW GUIDANCE LOOKS PRETTY REASONABLE...MAYBE

JUST A TAD FAR EAST FOR TODAYS 4 INCH AMOUNTS.  MANUALLY AND

MODEL SUGGESTED TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS EXCEED A FOOT IN MUCH OF

AREA MENTIONED ABOVE...BY TOMORROW MORNING SOMETIME.  WOULD

NOT BE SURPRISED...ESPECIALLY IF ANY CONVECTIVE SNOWS

OCCUR...TO SEE SOME LOCAL 2O PLUS AMOUNTS BEFORE ALL IS SAID

AND DONE. WILL SUGGEST THIS IN WSW.

 

TO SUMMARIZE WARNING/WATCH DECISIONS...

WILL UP THE GOING WATCHES TO HEAVY SNOW WARNINGS IN WEST

CENTRAL SECTIONS TO THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT AND GO WITH

2ND/3RD PERIOD WARNING FOR EAST CENTRAL SECTIONS WITH ICE

ALONG SOUTHERN EDGE.  IF ETA-AVN VERIFY, ROCKFORD

(ESPECIALLY) AND CHICAGO AREA MAY NEVER ACTUALLY VERIFY HEAVY

SNOW, BUT WITH REMAINING UNCERTAINTY, WATCH WILL BE CONTINUED

ACROSS THE NORTH.

 

THANKS FOR COORD: PAH, DVN, ILX, MKX, IND, LSX.

 

.CHI...WINTER STORM WATCH...NORTH AND PORTIONS FAR SOUTH

       TONIGHT AND SATURDAY

       HEAVY SNOW/WINTER STORM WARNING...WEST CENTRAL TODAY

       INTO SATURDAY.  EAST CENTRAL TONIGHT AND SATURDAY.

 

KAPLAN

[Hoosier]

ILLINOIS STATE FORECAST DISCUSSION

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL

245 PM CST FRI JAN 1 1999

 

POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST WINTER STORM IN PARTS OF ILLINOIS IN 20

YEARS. ETA AND NGM MODEL LOOK REASONABLE IN TRACK AND

INTENSITY OF STORM THOUGH SLIGHTLY SLOWER SPEED OF NGM

PREFERED. AVN SOLN A LITTLE TROUBLESOME...IT WOULD GIVE LESS

SNOW ESPECIALLY TO NW IL. EITHER WAY A MAJOR STORM WITH NRN

STREAM VORT MAX/UPR LOW MERGING WITHSRN VORT COMING OUT OF

TEX. JUST A MATTER OF TIMING AND FINAL POSITIONING. PLENTY OF

GULF MOISTURES AS SEEN BY 850 DEWPTS OF 8 TO 10 C INTO EAST

TEXAS AND OK THIS MRNG. SFC DWPTS IN 50S E TEXAS SPRDG N.

CERTAINLY PLENTY OF ARCTIC AIR IN PLACE.STORM SHD REALLY

WIND UP TNGT AND SAT AND HEAD TWD SW IN BY SAT EVE. HEAVY

SNOW BAND EXPECTED FM STL TO BRL NEWD TO RFD TO SBN. HEAVIEST

SNOW LOOKS TO BE THRU CNTRL AND NE IL WHERE AMOUNTS TO 18

INCHES POSSIBLE. SRN IL WILL SEE A MESSY MIX OF SNOW THEN

FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET...THEN MAYBE RAIN FOR A PERIOD LATE

TNGT AND ERY SAT BEFORE CHANGING TO SNOW AND ENDING SAT EVE.

VERY WINDY SAT AND ESPECIALLY SAT NGT AND SUN WITH WIND

CHILLS 15 TO 25 BELOW...SEVERE BLOWING AND DRIFTING AND NEAR

BLIZZARD CONDS. COULD BE SOME LAKEENHANCEMENT SAT NGT AND

ERY SUN FOR NE IL. LAKESHORE STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED FOR NE

IL MAY NEED WARNING SAT.

 

.CHI...WINTER STORM WARNING SRN IL TNGT AND SAT

       WINTER STORM WARNING CNTRL IL TNGT THRU SAT NGT

       GALE WARNING LM AND LS

       

ALLSOPP

[Hoosier]

ILLINOIS STATE FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL

300 AM CST SAT JAN 2 1999

 

ADDED WARNING INFO...

 

MODELS HAVE COME INTO REASONABLY GOOD AGREEMENT AT 500 MB AND WITH

EVENTUAL LOCATION OF SURFACE LOW OVER CENTRAL GREAT LAKES, THOUGH

THE ETA TRACKS THE LOW FURTHER WEST ON THE WAY TO ITS 48 HOUR

POSITION.  WILL ACCEPT THIS BASED ON RECENT SURFACE PRESSURE FALL

PATTERNS AND THE FACT THAT THE FARTHEST WEST TRACK ALMOST ALWAYS

SEEMS TO BE MORE CORRECT WITH STRONG SYSTEMS HEADING NORTH.

 

SYSTEM IS CERTAINLY COMPLEX WITH SIGNIFICANT HEAVY SNOW HAVING

FALLEN ALREADY (& CONTINUING) IN PARTS OF CENTRAL/NORTH ASSOCIATED

WITH GOOD ISENTROPIC LIFT BUT NOTNECESSARILY KEYED TO ANY 500 MB

VORT MAX.  BASED ON CURRENT RADAR AND SATELLITE LOOPS THIS APPEARS

POISED TO CONTINUE TO SPREAD SLOWLY NORTH TODAY.  ON THE OTHER HAND,

POWER HOUSE VORT MAX PRESENTLY IN CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA IS FORECAST

TO DIG SOUTH TODAY THEN RECURVE TONIGHT IN A PATH THAT OUGHT TO

REINVIGORATE SNOWFALL AND SUSTAIN GOOD LIFT OVER NORTHERN AND

ESPECIALLY NORTHEAST IL THROUGH MUCH OF SATURDAY NIGHT.  THIS IS

CONFIRMED BY VERTICAL VELOCITY TIME-SECTIONS.  MANUAL HEAVY SNOW

OUTLOOK FOR OVERNIGHT PERIOD LOOKS UNDERDONE IN NORTHEAST IL. ADDED

FEATURE WILL BE A AT LEAST A FEW HOURS OF LAKE ENHANCEMENT IN

CHICAGO AREA AS WINDS SWING MORE NORTHEAST DURING THE NIGHT.  LEMO

METHOD SUGGEST MAX STORM TOTAL OF AROUND 18 INCHES. WILL ACCEPT WFO

INPUT FOR THEIR AREAS...BUT LOOKS LIKE 12-18 INCH STORM TOTAL FOR

MUCH OF NORTHEAST IL, LESSER AMOUNTS SOUTHEASTWARD IN NORTHWEST IN.

 

WINDS IN NORTHEAST LOOK TO BE A LITTLE LESS THREATENING THAN THOUGHT

PREVIOUSLY WITH MORE WESTERLY TRACK OF SURFACE LOW. EARLIER

LAKESHORE EROSION POTENTIAL STATEMENT WILL BE KILLED. ON THE OTHER

HAND WINDS GUSTING UP TO AND OVER 30 IN MANY AREAS NOW, SO NEAR

BLIZZARD CONDITIONS, ESPECIALLY IN RURAL AREAS SHOULD APPEAR IN

ZONES MUCH OF CENTRAL AND NORTH.  STILL COULD MEET BLIZZARD CRITERIA FOR

A TIME IN PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST THROUGH WEST

CENTRAL AND WILL NEED TO MONITOR.

 

CENTRAL AND PARTS OF SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS IN THE MIDST OF SIGNIFICANT

ICING EVENT AND MAY NEED TO GO WITH ICE STORM WARNINGS THERE. WARMER

AIR WILL ALLEVIATE PROBLEMS IN FAR SOUTH LATER TODAY. POTENTIAL

AFTER CHANGE BACK TO SNOW SEEMS LIMITED HOWEVER WITH MODELS

SUGGESTING SUBSIDENCE/DRY SLOTTING LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. SEE

LINCOLN AND PADUCAH DISCUSSIONS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

 

DEEPENING LOW LIKELY TO PULL ARCTIC AIR INTO STATE TONIGHT AND

SUNDAY WITH MUCH OF STATE SEEING STEADY OR FALLING TEMPS SUNDAY.

ESPECIALLY WITH SNOW COVER, POTENTIAL FOR LARGE MOS ERRORS LOOMS.

 

.CHI...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY AND TONIGHT NORTH AND CENTRAL

       ICE STORM WARNING TODAY PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST

       GALE WARNING LM AND LS

       

KAPLAN

[Hoosier]

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL

445 AM CST SAT JAN 2 1999

 

...SEVERE WINTER STORM WILL CONTINUE TO PUMMEL MUCH OF ILLINOIS TODAY

AND TONIGHT...

 

.A SEVERE WINTER STORM WILL CONTINUE BURY MUCH OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL

ILLINOIS UNDER VERY HEAVY SNOW TODAY AND TONIGHT WITH MAJOR ICE

PROBLEMS IN PARTS OF THE EAST CENTRAL  NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE

ALSO EXPECTED TO DEVELOP.

 

TRAVEL WILL BE DANGEROUS WHERE IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE.

 

ILZ005>006-012>014-020>023-032-INZ001>002-021700-

MCHENRY-LAKE-KANE-DU PAGE-COOK-KENDALL-GRUNDY-WILL-KANKAKEE-

LIVINGSTON-LAKE-PORTER-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF WOODSTOCK... WAUKEGAN... AURORA... WHEATON...

CHICAGO... MORRIS... JOLIET... KANKAKEE... PONTIAC... GARY...

VALPARAISO

 

...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGHTONIGHT...

SNOW WILL CONTINUE HEAVILY AT TIMES THROUGH TODAY AND TONIGHT AND BY

THE TIME IT STOPS ACCUMULATING SUNDAY MORNING 12 TO 18 INCHES OF SNOW

SHOULD ACCUMULATE.  THERE WILL ALSO BE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND

DRIFTING OF SNOW WITH LOCAL WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. MANY ROADS WILL

LIKELY BECOME IMPASSABLE LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT ESPECIALLY IN OPEN

AREAS.

[Hoosier]

What makes this storm even more special for me is that it's really the first huge storm I remember (total near 20" imby), and being able to track it from several days away.  My weather memory goes back to the late 80s.  I remember a couple storms that snuck into double digits from around 1988-1994.  Then it pretty much sucked until the March 9, 1998 storm, but that was a surprise 12" so couldn't track it ahead of time.  There's a big difference between 10-12" storms and 20" storms.  

Not sure if anybody in the Chicago area remembers Shelly Monahan from channel 5, but one of my standout memories was when she mentioned that totals could reach 2 feet around Kankakee.  I remember thinking oh my God and hoping that would happen a little farther north lol.

[Hoosier]

Some official snowfall totals.  Just such a widespread storm:

 

Alpena, MI (APN): 11.5"

Chicago, IL (MDW): 20.6"

Chicago, IL (ORD): 21.6"

Cleveland, OH (CLE): 6.2"

Columbia, MO (COU): 9.3"

Columbus, OH (CMH): 6.6"

Dayton, OH (DAY): 7.5"

Des Moines, IA (DSM): 7.7"

Detroit, MI (DTW): 11.3"

Dubuque, IA (DBQ): 11.2"

Eau Claire, WI (EAU): 6.0"

Findlay, OH (FDY): 7.7"

Flint, MI (FNT): 8.5"

Fort Wayne, IN (FWA): 8.4"

Grand Rapids, MI (GRR): 15.6"

Green Bay, WI (GRB): 7.7"

Houghton Lake, MI (HTL): 17.3"

Indianapolis, IN (IND): 10.9"

Jackson, MI (JXN): 16.0"

La Crosse, WI (LSE): 9.6"

Lafayette, IN (LAF): 12.0"

Lansing, MI (LAN): 11.6"

Madison, WI (MSN): 10.9"

Mason City, IA (MCW): 14.6"

Milwaukee, WI (MKE): 15.4"

Minneapolis, MN (MSP): 8.2"

Moline, IL (MLI): 14.3"

Muncie, IN (MIE): 16.2"

Muskegon, MI (MKG): 9.3"

Ottumwa, IA (OTM): 8.0"

Peoria, IL (PIA): 14.1"

Quincy, IL (UIN): 13.5"

Rochester, MN (RST): 7.3"

Rockford, IL (RFD): 9.0"

Romeoville, IL (LOT): 15.3"

Saginaw, MI (MBS): 13.2"

St Louis, MO (STL): 8.0"

South Bend, IN (SBN): 18.9"

Springfield, IL (SPI): 13.4"

Sullivan, WI (MKX): 13.6"

Toledo, OH (TOL): 7.9"

Waterloo, IA (ALO): 12.5"

Wausau, WI (AUW): 7.1"

[Tom]

On 1/2/2024 at 1:17 PM, Hoosier said:

What makes this storm even more special for me is that it's really the first huge storm I remember (total near 20" imby), and being able to track it from several days away.  My weather memory goes back to the late 80s.  I remember a couple storms that snuck into double digits from around 1988-1994.  Then it pretty much sucked until the March 9, 1998 storm, but that was a surprise 12" so couldn't track it ahead of time.  There's a big difference between 10-12" storms and 20" storms.  

Not sure if anybody in the Chicago area remembers Shelly Monahan from channel 5, but one of my standout memories was when she mentioned that totals could reach 2 feet around Kankakee.  I remember thinking oh my God and hoping that would happen a little farther north lol.

I remember this storm vividly as I was driving home from my NYE celebrations on New Year's day with a hint of initial lake effect snow showers coming off the lake on I-294 heading north towards ORD.  Back then, I didn't use any websites to track the storm and only followed the local news channels and TWC.  Boy, that storm was something else as it just dumped snow but I remember it was a finer/less fluffy snow character.  This was my biggest storm to date in my early years of when I really started paying attn to the weather.

[Tom]

You can see the lake snow bands shifting west in this animation below towards NE IL....

https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/current/mcview.phtml?prod=lotrad&java=script&mode=archive&frames=50&interval=10&year=1999&month=1&day=1&hour=4&minute=50

 

[Hoosier]

16 minutes ago, Tom said:

I remember this storm vividly as I was driving home from my NYE celebrations on New Year's day with a hint of initial lake effect snow showers coming off the lake on I-294 heading north towards ORD.  Back then, I didn't use any websites to track the storm and only followed the local news channels and TWC.  Boy, that storm was something else as it just dumped snow but I remember it was a finer/less fluffy snow character.  This was my biggest storm to date in my early years of when I really started paying attn to the weather.

Same here.  I remember being glued to the weather forecasts on TV in the days before.  TWC did their extended outlook once per hour I think, and it stayed pretty consistent all the way up to the storm.  I remember them adding a bright white "heavy snow" area to the map at some point, and then you knew that it really had a chance to be big because they rarely did that.  

[ATW]

I was living in OKC at the time but went to my in-laws in Missouri. Got stuck for nine days because they lived in country with a lot of hills and dirt and gravel roads. After the storm we had periodic freezing rain on top of it.

[Tom]

6 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

Same here.  I remember being glued to the weather forecasts on TV in the days before.  TWC did their extended outlook once per hour I think, and it stayed pretty consistent all the way up to the storm.  I remember them adding a bright white "heavy snow" area to the map at some point, and then you knew that it really had a chance to be big because they rarely did that.  

Yes!!  The infamous "HEAVY SNOW" with big fat white flakes...gosh, those were great memories...it always brought me goosebumps!

[jaster220]

I remember watching TWC on cable at my former In-laws way back in the mid-80s. In the "Look Ahead" segment I was always scanning for the white "Heavy Snow" too . I think it went out 7 or 10 days iirc. More than you would get in the local newspaper back in that era. 

[winterfreak]

Speaking of The Weather Channel. Check this out: https://battaglia.ddns.net/twc/#

Type in your zip and enjoy lol

[jaster220]

48 minutes ago, winterfreak said:

Speaking of The Weather Channel. Check this out: https://battaglia.ddns.net/twc/#

Type in your zip and enjoy lol

AWESOME!  Thanks

[Stormy]

My records show it started snowing around midday on the 1st and ending as light snow in a.m. of the 3rd. I think there was at least one break and not continuous snow. I ended up with approximately 13" total snowfall and 1.40" liquid equivalent!