The Blizzard of 1999 was a strong winter snowstorm which struck the Midwestern United States and portions of central and eastern Canada, hitting hardest in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, southern Ontario, and southern Quebec dumping as much as 60 centimetres (2 ft) of snow in many areas.

Soon after the snow ended, record low temperatures occurred with values of −20 °F (−29 °C) or lower n parts of Illinois and surrounding states on January 3 and 4, including a handful of daily minimum temperatures around −50 °F (−46 °C) on January 4 in the area of heaviest accumulation.

The storm also traveled across southern Ontario dumping about 12 inches (30 cm) of snow throughout the entire Quebec City-Windsor Corridor.

Chicago broke a one-day snowfall record with 18.6 inches (47 cm) falling on January 2.

A series of additional snowstorms over the next 10 days gave Toronto a total of 46 inches (118 cm),[3] a record monthly total for the month of January, prompting then-mayor Mel Lastman to infamously call in the Canadian Army to assist the snow removal with the city at a near standstill.

As a result, the mayor and city, through the media endured ridicule from other parts of Canada more prone to such high snowfall amounts.

The bitterly cold temperatures created large ice floes on the inland waterways, causing shipping delays.