Illinois, 1999

Heavy Snow in Illinois, March 8 to 9, 1999

March 8 to 9, 1999 · NWS LOT · 16 events in 16 counties and zones

Heavy snow fell across most of north central and northeast Illinois. Snow began in the late afternoon and evening of the 8th and diminished to flurries during the morning of the 9th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 14 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
16

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 LOT wrote it up.

Heavy snow fell across most of north central and northeast Illinois. Snow began in the late afternoon and evening of the 8th and diminished to flurries during the morning of the 9th. Snowfall amounts were generally 5 to 8 inches. Snow amounts were a little less toward the Wisconsin border. Some of snowfall totals include 5.4 inches at Midway Airport Chicago, 6.7 inches O'Hare Airport Chicago, 6.4 inches at NWS Romeoville, 6.1 inches at Lake Villa in Lake County, 7.7 inches at Rockford Airport, 7.1 inches at Dixon in Lee County, 7.0 inches at DeKalb, 7.0 inches at Oregon in Ogle County, 8.0 inches at Morris in Grundy County, 8.2 inches at Bourbonnais in Kankakee County, 6.0 inches at Chatsworth in Livingston County and 7.3 inches at Watseka in Iroquois County. Strong east winds caused blowing and drifting of snow. There were many traffic accidents including a fatal accident near Mendota and another on the Tri-State Tollway near the Hinsdale Oasis. Many schools closed.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

16 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Cook

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Cook forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heavy Snow, De Kalb

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
De Kalb forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.894, -88.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Du Page

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Du Page forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.852, -88.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ford

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Ford forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.597, -88.223 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Grundy

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Grundy forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.285, -88.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Iroquois

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Iroquois forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.747, -87.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Kane

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Kane forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.939, -88.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Kankakee

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Kankakee forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.138, -87.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Kendall

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Kendall forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.591, -88.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, La Salle

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
La Salle forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.344, -88.886 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lake

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Lake forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
42.349, -87.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lee

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Lee forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.746, -89.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Livingston

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Livingston forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.892, -88.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ogle

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Ogle forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
42.043, -89.321 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Will

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Will forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heavy Snow, Winnebago

When
March 8, 5:00 PM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Winnebago forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
42.336, -89.161 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Illinois in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, March 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: 5686327, 5686328, 5686329, 5686330, 5686331, 5686332, 5686333, 5686334, 5686335, 5686336, 5686337, 5686338, 5686339, 5686340, 5686341, 5686342.