This Day in Weather History: Blizzard of '99

The Blizzard of '99 was a major snowstorm on January 2nd-4th of 1999 that impacted the Midwest and sections of Eastern Canada. The hardest hit areas of the storm was in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Ontario, and Quebec. The storm paralyzed the cities of Chicago, Illinois and Toronto where 22 inches of snow fell in Chicago. The National Weather Service called the storm the second worst blizzard in Chicago in the 20th Century. The storm also caused a significant ice storm in Western New York. The Blizzard caused airports to be shut down, rail services to be stopped or delayed, and schools and businesses to close for days. A Nationwide Blood Shortage also was a result of the storm. Blackouts occurred for days at a time in Illinois. Seventy three people also died during the storm. Also there was 300-400 million dollars in damage. President Bill Clinton also declared a Federal Disaster in many areas in Illinois and Iowa.