Winter Storm in Iowa, January 1 to 3, 1999

Name: Winter Storm in Iowa, January 1 to 3, 1999
Start: 1999-01-01T05:17
End: 1999-01-03T04:00
Location: Iowa

January 1 to 3, 1999 · NWS DVN · 21 events in 21 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 21 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: 2
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 21

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 DVN wrote it up.

A strong winter storm exiting the Southern Rockies pumped warm tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico over cold Arctic air already in place over the upper midwest. As the storm moved toward the Great Lakes it produced heavy snow, strong winds, and a bitterly cold start to the New Year across Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois. With snowfall amounts ranging from 12 to 15 inches across Southeast Iowa to 9 to 12 inches over East Central Iowa roads and highways quickly became snowpacked causing several businesses to close over the weekend. Most school students enjoyed a longer holiday break as schools were closed several days to allow snow to be removed from streets, sidewalks, and parking lots. Two fatalities were reported. In Burlington a 40 year old man died of a heart attack after shoveling snow, and in Davenport an 11 year old Oklahoma boy was killed when the car in which he was riding was struck by a semi-truck. Over all...most counties reported few accidents as motorists heeded earlier advisories that warned of deteriorating travel conditions.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

21 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Benton

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Benton forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.080, -92.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Buchanan

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Buchanan forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.471, -91.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cedar

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Cedar forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.772, -91.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clinton

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Clinton forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.898, -90.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Delaware

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.471, -91.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Des Moines

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Des Moines forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dubuque

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Dubuque forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.469, -90.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Henry

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Henry forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.988, -91.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Iowa

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Iowa forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.686, -92.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jackson

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.172, -90.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jefferson

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Johnson

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.672, -91.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jones

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Jones forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.121, -91.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Keokuk

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Keokuk forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lee

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.642, -91.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Linn

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Linn forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.079, -91.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Louisa

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Louisa forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Muscatine

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Muscatine forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.484, -91.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Scott

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Scott forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.637, -90.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Van Buren

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Van Buren forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.753, -91.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Washington

When: January 1, 5:17 AM CST to January 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.336, -91.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Winter Storm, Dubuque	1999-01-03	40	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Winter Storm, Van Buren	1999-01-02	11	Male	Other	Direct

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Iowa in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5684811, 5684812, 5684813, 5684814, 5684815, 5684816, 5684817, 5684818, 5684819, 5684820, 5684821, 5684822, 5684823, 5684824, 5684825, 5684826, 5684827, 5684828, 5684829, 5684830, 5684831.