Here’s how you can convince skeptics (maybe even your own kids, years from now) that the Blizzard of ’99 was more than just a sprinkle: Clip this page and save it!
KidNews has collected some bone-chilling, snow-spraying facts behind the blizzard and the arctic blast that came with it. And since you can say, “I survived the Blizzard of ’99,” why not write your own story? Fill in the blanks at the bottom of this page before locking it in a warm, safe place.
Snow falls, records too. When the flakes were tallied, the 18.6 inches of snow dumped by the Blizzard of ’99 beat Chicago’s old single-day record by more than 2 inches (16.5 inches in 1979).
That 1979 storm, and the poor job the city did digging out, caused then-Mayor Michael Bilandic to lose his job. But Mayor Richard M. Daley, who’s up for re-election this year, didn’t take any chances. He unleashed a whopping 850 trucks to battle the snow, more than three times the number used during a typical snowstorm.
* Colder than polar. On Jan. 5, the tiny town of Congerville in central Illinois (pop. 397) set the state record for the lowest temperature ever: 36 degrees below zero! Near Chicago, it hit 27 below in Aurora, 16 below at O’Hare Airport and 12 below at the lakefront. Wind chills dropped temperatures another 10 degrees or more.
All in all, we’d have been better off in Barrow, Alaska, where it was 12 degrees below zero with barely a trace of wind. And Barrow is as far north as a town gets: It’s 300 miles above the Arctic Circle.
* Just plane frozen. The Blizzard of ’99 stranded 300,000 air travelers and canceled about 3,000 weekend flights. As a result, at least a quarter million travelers were estimated to have passed through O’Hare Airport on Jan. 4, making it the busiest day ever at the world’s busiest airport.
Removing 18 inches of snow from O’Hare’s runways and roadways was no easy feat. About 1,000 drivers worked around the clock, using 84 tons of sand to clear 90 miles of paved surfaces. And for the first time ever, the airport used 11 new snow melters, each capable of dissolving 600 tons of snow an hour.
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My special report, by
After the Blizzard of ’99, there was so much snow on the ground that I couldn’t help but (blank)
I realized that it wasn’t a normal snowstorm when (blank)
The last time I saw this much snow was (blank)
School was out/in (circle one), so I (blank)
On Jan. 5, the day it hit 36 below in Congerville, Ill., I was able to stand outside (blank) minutes before my fingers and toes began freezing. I actually felt my (blank) freeze for the first time!
At one point, I waited (blank) minutes/hours (circle one) to catch a train or bus.
Clothing report… Items lost in the snow: (blank)
Items ruined by the snow and salt spray: (blank)
The most clothing I had to wear at any one time (list all layers): (blank)
THAR SHE BLOWS
What does it take to turn an ordinary snowstorm into a blizzard?
“Wind makes the difference,” says Stephanie Kenitzer, public affairs officer with the National Weather Service.
For a blizzard to occur, steady winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more mix with falling snow, reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, Kenitzer says.
So does Chicago’s New Year’s storm qualify as a full-blown blizzard?
You bet. Tim Seeley, a meteorologist with the Chicago office of the National Weather Service, says wind gusts of 50 mph were recorded at Meigs Field in Chicago. Yikes!
FREEZING OUT THE HOMELESS?
As the Blizzard of ’99 began dumping its worst on Chicago, Mayor Richard M. Daley announced the city was doing all it could to help the homeless. About 700 beds were available at shelters after the storm hit, city officials said.
But homeless advocates have reason to be skeptical. A new report issued by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty identifies Chicago as one of five U.S. cities with the “meanest streets.”
When it comes to the homeless and beds, the report states, the numbers don’t add up. With a homeless population estimated at 9,000, Chicago has about 2,200 emergency shelter beds and 2,950 transitional housing slots.
John Camper, a spokesman for the mayor’s office, said the report sounds unfair. In the 10 years that Richard M. Daley has been mayor…, there has never been a night when we did not have vacancies in homeless shelters, no matter how cold it was, including last week.”
But John Donahue, executive director of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, said centers often take in more people than they’re supposed to.
“The city says there are 700 beds out there, but I can’t find them,” he said. – Lou Carlozo
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So…what you did with all that snow?
Did you sculpt it, shovel it, dig it, pile it or sled across it? Show us! Mail your fave Blizzard of ’99 photo to: KidNews Bliz Pics, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. We’ll print our faves in an upcoming issue, and the top winner will receive a fleece hat and a vintage Elvis snow globe (shake it, baby!).
