Cold in Illinois, January 5, 1999

Name: Cold in Illinois, January 5, 1999
Start: 1999-01-05T05:00
End: 1999-01-05T08:00
Location: Illinois

January 5, 1999 · NWS ILX · 35 events in 35 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 35 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 35

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS ILX wrote it up.

A clear sky, light winds and thick snowcover set the stage for record cold morning temperatures across the region. A new state record low was set at Congerville, where the mercury plunged to 36 degrees below zero. Other bitterly cold record readings came from: Champaign and Lincoln both with 25 degrees below zero, Springfield with 21 below and Peoria with 19 degrees below zero.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

35 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Cass

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Cass forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.974, -90.247 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Champaign

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Champaign forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.140, -88.199 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Christian

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Christian forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.546, -89.277 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Clark

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Clark forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.334, -87.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Clay

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.754, -88.490 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Coles

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Coles forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.520, -88.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Crawford

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.003, -87.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Cumberland

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.273, -88.240 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, De Witt

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: De Witt forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.175, -88.904 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Douglas

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Douglas forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.770, -88.217 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Edgar

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Edgar forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.679, -87.746 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Effingham

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Effingham forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.060, -88.590 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Fulton

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Fulton forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.473, -90.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Jasper

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Jasper forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.010, -88.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Knox

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.932, -90.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Lawrence

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Lawrence forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.720, -87.727 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Logan

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Logan forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.125, -89.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Macon

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Macon forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.860, -88.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Marshall

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.033, -89.345 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Mason

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Mason forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.240, -89.917 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, McLean

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: McLean forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.491, -88.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The cooperative observer in Congerville recorded a morning low temperature of 36 degrees below zero. This marked to date the lowest temperature ever recorded in the state of Illinois.

Cold/Wind Chill, Menard

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Menard forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.027, -89.802 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Morgan

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Morgan forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.716, -90.201 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Moultrie

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Moultrie forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.642, -88.619 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Peoria

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Peoria forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.788, -89.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Piatt

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Piatt forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.010, -88.591 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Richland

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Richland forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.712, -88.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Sangamon

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Sangamon forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.758, -89.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Schuyler

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Schuyler forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.158, -90.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Scott

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Scott forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.644, -90.475 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Shelby

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Shelby forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.391, -88.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Stark

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Stark forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.093, -89.797 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Tazewell

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Tazewell forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.508, -89.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Vermilion

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Vermilion forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.183, -87.733 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Woodford

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Woodford forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.788, -89.211 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill: Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, January 1999

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5684181, 5684182, 5684183, 5684184, 5684185, 5684186, 5684187, 5684188, 5684189, 5684190, 5684191, 5684192, 5684193, 5684194, 5684195, 5684196, 5684197, 5684198, 5684199, 5684200, 5684201, 5684202, 5684203, 5684204, 5684205, 5684206, 5684207, 5684208, 5684209, 5684210, 5684211, 5684296, 5684297, 5684298, 5684299.