Heavy Snow — Moultrie, Illinois

1999-01-01 to 1999-01-03 · Moultrie, Illinois

Wider weather episode

A major winter storm paralyzed much of the region during the first few days of 1999. Snow began falling across portions of Central Illinois before noon on New Year's Day and continued to fall, moderate to heavy at times for most of the following 24-hour period. Locations near and south of Charleston/Mattoon saw periods of mixed precipitation, including freezing rain, while farther north snow was predominate. After the snowfall and precipitation diminished, winds increased from the northwest and temperatures dropped, causing dangerous wind chills and treacherous driving conditions with extensive blowing and drifting snow through the third day of the year. Total snow accumulations topped 6 inches mainly along and north of Interstate 70. Lesser amounts fell to the south, where more freezing precipitation was reported. The heaviest snow band in Central Illinois was found west and north of a line from Quincy to Virginia (Cass County) to Peoria to Bloomington to Champaign where reports of 14 or more inches of snow were common. The weight of the heavy snow and ice caused many roofs and porches to collapse, resulting in one death and an injury. An overhang attached to a garage at a Dalton City (Moultrie County) residence collapsed, killing a 47-year old woman and injuring her husband. In Pekin (Tazewell County), a storage building roof collapsed. A garage roof collapsed onto a station wagon in Winchester (Scott County). In Sullivan (Moultrie County), another roof collapsed. In Chesterville (Moultrie County), the roof caved in on the Bourbon Township Shed. Structural damage was sustained at the Farm and Fleet just west of Bloomington on Route 9 (McLean County). Part of the roof collapsed on the TCI building in Decatur (Macon County). The roof caved in and fell onto a service truck and two cars at Walker's Tire and Muffler Shop in Farmer City (Dewitt County). A private airplane was totalled when the roof of one of the main hangers at Kermit Patchett Airport in Marshall (Clark County) collapsed. Several homes in town also reported collapsed porches. In Lawrence County, more than $1000 in damage was sustained to vehicles in three separate accidents, with only minor injuries reported. Elsewhere, no damage estimates were available. In addition, many locations sustained temporary or extended power outages during the storm.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5684169. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.