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Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 2, according to the Tribune’s archives.

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Front page flashback: Jan. 3, 1999

Snow began falling on Jan. 2, 1999, and didn't stop for two days. Almost 22 inches of snow fell, making it the largest snowstorm in almost two decades and the second-largest snowfall in Chicago history. (baiduhai)
Snow began falling Jan. 2, 1999, and didn't stop for two days. Almost 22 inches of snow fell, making it the largest snowstorm in almost two decades and the second-largest snowfall in Chicago history. (baiduhai)

Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)

  • High temperature: 61 degrees (2004)
  • Low temperature: Minus 16 degrees (1879)
  • Precipitation: 1.24 inches (1999)
  • Snowfall: 18.6 inches (1999)
"The opening of the greatest ship canal ever constructed in America and the informal completion of one of the engineering feats in the world's history was accomplished without ceremony," the Tribune reported about the completion of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on Jan. 3, 1900. (baiduhai)
"The opening of the greatest ship canal ever constructed in America and the informal completion of one of the engineering feats in the world's history was accomplished without ceremony," the Tribune reported about the completion of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on Jan. 3, 1900. (baiduhai)

1900: The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (a project long championed by the Tribune) was completed, reversing the flow of the Chicago River.

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1984: Oprah Winfrey debuted as the new host of “AM Chicago.”

A woman fights the wind-blown snow as she tries to cross Wacker Drive near the Chicago River on Jan. 2, 1999. (John Lee/baiduhai)
A woman fights the wind-blown snow as she tries to cross Wacker Drive near the Chicago River on Jan. 2, 1999. (John Lee/baiduhai)

1999: The most devastating snowstorm to batter Chicago in two decades closed roads, canceled hundreds of flights and stranded thousands. From Jan. 1 to 3, 21.6 inches of snow fell, making it the second-largest snowstorm on record in Chicago history. Parks, vacant land and the Des Plaines River all became giant snow depositories.

Meteorologists likened the storm to the blizzard of 1979.

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