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February 5–6, 2010 North American blizzard

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North American Blizzard of 2010
North American blizzard of 2010, imaged by NOAA GOES 12 on February 6, 2010, at 0531 UTC.
TypeWinter storm
FormedFebruary 1, 2010 (came ashore on the West Coast)
DissipatedFebruary 6, 2010 (moved out to sea off the East Coast)
Lowest pressure978 millibars (28.9 inHg) as of 9:00 pm EST February 6[1]
Maximum snowfall
or ice accretion		40.0 inches (102 cm) at Colesville, Maryland as of 9:00 pm EST February 6[1]
Fatalitiesat least 41 (including at least 28 in Mexico and 13 in the US)
Areas affectedMidwest and East Coast of the United States (from Illinois to North Carolina to New York)
New Mexico, Mexico, Eastern Canada

The Template:DiscusshlNorth American Blizzard of 2010Template:/discusshl, also known as the Snowmageddon[2] or Snowpocalypse,[3] was a winter storm and severe weather event that tracked from the U.S. states of California to Arizona (with record breaking snowfall) through northern Mexico, the American Southwest, the Midwest, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic regions.[3] The storm created historic snowfall totals in the Middle Atlantic states, rivaling the Knickerbocker Storm of 1922, as well as extensive flooding and landslides in Mexico. The blizzard stretched from Mexico and New Mexico to New Jersey before moving out to sea, then turning north to impact the Maritime Provinces of Canada. The storm caused deaths in Mexico, New Mexico, Maryland and Virginia.

Some places across Eastern West Virginia, Maryland, Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Southwestern Pennsylvania, Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey received between 2 feet (0.61 m) and 40.0 inches (1.02 m) of snow, and air, rail, and Interstate highway travel came to a complete halt.[4]

Formation

Snow-covered capital region of the United States

The main storm system originated in the Pacific Ocean, passing through California and Arizona on February 1 and 2, delivering heavy rain and mountain snow to these regions. On February 3, the system dropped into northern Mexico, before swinging northeast into southern New Mexico, and then ejecting eastward across Texas. The storm was responsible for producing over a foot of snowfall in the higher elevations and the eastern plains of New Mexico, shutting down major highways including Interstate 40 east of Albuquerque for several hours on February 3. The center of circulation then tracked across central Texas to the Gulf Coast, while producing rain and snow for Oklahoma and northern Texas, and severe thunderstorms further south. Meanwhile another low pressure center tracked from the northern Rockies to the Upper Midwest, bringing light snow showers to Montana, the Dakotas, parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois.

On February 5, the two systems began interacting, stretching a band of heavy snow from Illinois eastward through Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. By evening, the northern system dissipated and the southern system began intensifying as it moved northeast from Alabama to the vicinity of Cape Hatteras. During the evening heavy snow spread eastward into Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, and the Washington, DC area.

Overnight, as the storm system moved northeast toward Cape Hatteras, a blocking pattern over the North Atlantic prevented it from continuing this motion, and forced it to turn east. As a result, the northern edge of the heaviest snow reached the southern suburbs of New York City, with light snow falling in the parts of the city itself. Upstate New York and New England were spared from this system, receiving little more than isolated snow flurries in southern sections. Easterly winds and onshore flow contributed to light snow accumulations of less than one inch in Boston, Cape Cod, and parts of coastal Rhode Island.

According to the blog of Weather Channel senior meteorologist Stu Ostro, the storm's formation showed some similarities to the North American blizzard of 2009, though it also had specific differences. Although the air feeding into the cyclone from the north was not particularly cold by midwinter standards according to Ostro, it was cold enough for snow. The storm was carrying an enormous amount of moisture drawn from the tropical Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico as seen on February 3 satellite imagery over Mexico, as well as from the Atlantic as seen in radar imagery from early on February 5. Ostro characterized the storm as having "strong dynamics" and expected the snowfall to be of long duration, typically leading to large accumulations.[5]

Template:DiscusshlSnowfallTemplate:/discusshl

In Ephrata, Pennsylvania, 16 inches (41 cm) of snow had fallen by 8:30 am EST on February 6

According to the National Weather Service, in the Baltimore, MD region, snowfall totals exceeded 30 inches (76 cm) in many areas. Localized reports include 38.3 inches (97 cm) in Elkridge, MD, 30.2 inches (77 cm) in Ellicott City, MD, 32.9 inches (84 cm) in Laurel, MD, 33.8 inches (86 cm) in Columbia, MD, 34.9 inches (89 cm) in Clarksville, MD, 28.0 inches (71 cm) in Baltimore City, 28.6 inches (73 cm) at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, 30.5 inches (77 cm) in Dundalk, MD, 29.0 inches (74 cm) in Catonsville, MD, 34.0 inches (86 cm) in Crofton, MD, 29.0 inches (74 cm) in Frederick, MD, 36.0 inches (91 cm) in Frostburg, MD, 31.0 inches (79 cm) in Pasadena, MD.

19th Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C., on February 6

Throughout the Washington, D.C. region, snowfall totals amounted to 20 inches (51 cm) to over 36 inches (91 cm). Rockville, MD reported 24.5 inches (62 cm), Colesville, MD reported 40.0 inches (102 cm), Gaithersburg, MD reported 22.0 inches (56 cm), Olney, MD reported 28.0 inches (71 cm), Dulles International Airport reported 32.9 inches (84 cm), and Germantown, MD reported 27.4 inches (70 cm) of snow.

Philadelphia, PA, had totals of 28.5 inches (72 cm) of snow by 5:15 pm EST on February 6. This was the second highest snowfall in city history, after the North American blizzard of 1996, and made for the first winter where the city saw two storms producing more than 20 inches (51 cm) of snow, along with the North American blizzard of 2009. Some areas in Southern New Jersey had totals of 29 inches (74 cm) of snow by 4:00 pm EST on February 6, 2010. Wilmington, DE reported 25 inches (64 cm) of snow, Atlantic City, NJ reported 16.3 inches (41 cm), Vineland, NJ reported 19.8 inches (50 cm), and Allentown, PA reported 7.7 inches (20 cm) of snow.[6]

In Rockville, Maryland, cars were buried under more than 20 inches (51 cm) of snow by 8:45 am EST on February 6

The Greater Pittsburgh area received roughly 20 inches (51 cm) of snow, higher in some locales, but lower in others.[7] Pittsburgh officially recorded 21.1 inches (54 cm) of snow, making it the fourth largest snow storm since records have been kept.[8] The storm was expected to bring the Pittsburgh area 4–8 inches of snow, but the storm moved farther north than expected leading to explosive snowfall. The NWS in Pittsburgh recorded 7 inches of snow between 7 pm and midnight on February 5 and 5.3 inches between 3 pm and 6 am on February 6. The heavy wet snow also left more than 100,000 in the Pittsburgh area without power at one point Saturday morning.[9] The snowfall had such an impact that the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland was forced to close the campus for only the second time since 1976.

Impact

Mexico

Freak winter rains across Mexico collapsed hillsides, sent rivers over their banks and left at least 15 people dead, officials said on Friday, February 5. The rain, which began early in the week and peaked on Thursday, February 4, had relented by Friday morning, providing officials with their first good look at the damage. More than half of the country was affected. The hardest area hit by the storm was the western state of Michoacán, a famous reserve for Monarch butterflies, where at least 13 people were killed by landslides and flooding. An unknown number of people were missing Friday.[10] Other areas that were hard hit by flooding was the eastern Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa and municipalities in eastern State of Mexico such as Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl and Ecatepec de Morelos.[11] The rain broke records for February in Michoacán, the State of Mexico and Mexico City, with twice the normal amount for the entire month falling in 24 hours.[12] There was a silver lining: Officials said the copious rain had filled reservoirs outside Mexico City that are a key source of water for the metropolis. Water shortages had forced on-and-off rationing since last summer.[10] Water authorities state that most of the country now has a "positve balance" in reservoirs with 21,000,000 cubic metres (5.5×109 US gal) of water added to reservoirs.[12]

United States

Southwest

Heavy rain and mountain snow fell in California, Arizona and New Mexico from February 1 to 4. Up to 1 foot (0.30 m) of snow fell in the mountains east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, while snow accumulations in the city varied from less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) near downtown to 5 inches (13 cm) on the West Mesa and in the far northeast foothills. Ice-covered roadways caused numerous accidents – including one fatal crash near Gallup – shutting down Interstate 40 through Tijeras Canyon and between Grants and Gallup for several hours on February 3.[13]

Deep south

Prolonged rains from Thursday morning through Thursday evening (February 4), produced widespread rainfall totals of 1 inch (2.5 cm) – 4 inches (10 cm) statewide with flooding reported in portions of Central and Southern Mississippi. The capital city of Jackson broke a daily rainfall record with 2.51 inches (6.4 cm) of rainfall.[14] Power outages were reported in North Carolina's mountain counties as the winter storm brought a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain to much of the state and rain to the rest, with about 40,000 outages late Friday afternoon (5 February). A drenching rain fell early Friday in the Charlotte area, while several inches of snow accumulated farther north. Parts of central and eastern North Carolina were under flood watches in advance of significant rainfall of up to 2 inches (5.1 cm).[15]

Midwest

Heavy snowfall occurred in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio February 4–6. Snowfall totals ranged from 6 inches (15 cm) to over 1 foot (0.30 m) across the region. Drifts of up to 4 feet (1.2 m) were reported in central Indiana.[16]

Mid-Atlantic

File:IMAG00502.jpg
In Gaithersburg, Maryland, 24 inches (61 cm) of snow had fallen by 10:00 am EST on February 6

The United States Government implemented an unscheduled leave policy for federal employees on Friday February 5 and shut down four hours early in an effort to clear metro DC before substantial snow accumulations began. Numerous school districts in the metro DC area announced closures for Friday February 5 well in advance, although District of Columbia Public Schools and some Maryland schools held a half day of class. Many districts had used all their built-in snow days and some began scheduling classes on upcoming holidays (for example, Fairfax County on February 15, the Monday of President's Day weekend).[17] Late on Sunday February 7, the Office of Personnel Management announced that the United States Government would again be closed on Monday February 8, with only emergency/essential personnel required to report, and numerous school districts again cancelled classes for Monday, Tuesday February 9, and even Wednesday February 10.

As of shortly after midnight on February 6, more than 50,000 homes and businesses in the Washington, DC metropolitan area were without electricity. In northern Virginia, the total was 33,000 and in northern Maryland and the District of Columbia the total was 19,000. Roadways were blanketed with snow, Metro bus service ended at 9 pm EST, and above ground Metro rail service had also ended. Flights were canceled at the Washington-Baltimore area's three main airports and at Philadelphia International Airport. Delta Air Lines had suspended flights in and out of Washington, Baltimore, Maryland and Philadelphia, and a spokesman said there will be limited service to Philadelphia on Saturday.

Cars covered by snow near the end of the blizzard, Pentagon City, Arlington, Virginia

In Maryland, the state transit administration was assessing the metro route structure in Baltimore and its suburbs to determine where services will be offered. The Baltimore Metro was running special snow trains on its heavy rail and light rail lines to keep tracks clear. Delaware Gov. Jack Markell declared a state of emergency Friday night and ordered all vehicles off the roads by 10 p.m. EST (this was in addition to an earlier state of emergency declared by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and snow emergencies declared in the District of Columbia and some Maryland counties).[18] Maryland was under a state of emergency as of mid-day on February 6, as state and county roads crews said they were struggling to keep even one lane open on major roads and 151,000 customers were without power in Maryland, including 34,000 Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers in the region. Cars were left abandoned on highways, trees were coming down and humvees were being used to ferry patients to local hospitals.[19] The United States Postal Service decided to cancel mail delivery and collection in the affected areas for Saturday, February 6.[17]

The park located in the center of Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.

The weight of the snow caused several roof collapses throughout the Washington area. Most notably, the roof of a hangar housing private jets at Dulles International Airport caved in twice due to the snowfall.[20] Also reported were the collapse of a house roof in Northeast, Washington, D.C., the Prince William Ice Center roof in Dale City, Virginia,[21] and the total collapse of a warehouse in California, Maryland. In none of the four cases were there reports of injuries.[22] Around 2 pm EST on February 6, DC Fire and EMS personnel responded to a church collapse in Northeast DC--preliminary reports from the scene were that the weight of the heavy snow caused the one or one and a half story wooden building to completely collapse, and subsequent gas leaks caused some neighbors to be evacuated.[23] The roof of St. John's Elementary School in Hollywood, Maryland, also collapsed,[24] as did the roof of the truck bay at the volunteer fire station in Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia, on the morning of Monday February 8, but there were no injuries.[25]

Notable Events

Washington, DC

On February 7 in Dupont Circle, a Twitter-organized snowball fight broke out with nearly 5,000 participants involved [26].

Two cross country skiers were spotted throughout Washington, DC, during the blizzard. Their likeness was reflected in photographs in several regional newspapers, making them an iconic image of the storm and local celebrities [27].

Casualties

Mexico

Three children died when their home in Angangueo was overwhelmed by a flooded river, and two other people died under a landslide in Zitácuaro. A sixth victim was crushed beneath a collapsed wall of a home in Ocampo. Two children drowned trying to cross the swollen Chapulin River in the central state of Guanajuato.[10] In total, twenty eight deaths in the states of Michoacán, Mexico State and the Distrito Federal (Mexico City) have been attributed to the storm.[28]

USA

New Mexico

On February 3, 2010, a family from California was traveling east on snow-covered Interstate 40 near Gallup, New Mexico, when the driver hit a patch of ice, sending their pickup truck across the median into the westbound lanes, striking an oncoming vehicle, killing the adult passenger, and leaving the driver, the child, and the driver of the other vehicle critically injured.[29]

Indiana

On February 5, 2010, Brendan Burke, son of Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke, was killed while driving in Economy, Indiana, near the Ohio border. While driving in heavy snow, his 2004 Jeep Cherokee slid sideways into the path of an oncoming Ford truck, killing him and his passenger, Mark Reedy (18) of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Virginia

On February 6, 2010, a father and son were rendering aid to the occupants of a disabled vehicle on Interstate 81 in Virginia. A tractor trailer that was approaching the scene jackknifed and killed the men.[30]

Maryland

In Maryland, a family was traveling north of Aberdeen on Route 462 when they ran into the back of a snow plow. Maryland State Police say that the accident was serious, but the extent of the injuries has not been determined.[31]

Delaware

In Delaware, officials are invesitgating 8 deaths in New Castle County related to the storm. In some cases details have not yet been released, however, two men were found under snow piles and a third suffered from dementia and wandered outside only to be found an hour later by a family member half buried in snow.[32]

Pennsylvania

A father and daughter in McKeesport were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, as a result of improper usage of a generator after a power outage.[33][34] A Canonsburg man was found dead at the bottom of a snow-covered staircase. Authorities are currently investigating the incident.[35]

Lakota

Template:Discusshl

Main article: Lakota Electric Outage of 2010

Template:/discusshl

In 2010 in the wake of massive snow storms that swept the Dakota's a number of Indian Reservations were left with out power or running water.

"There's been winters this bad before, but not with rain so bad it freezes the power lines and snaps the poles," said Joseph Brings Plenty, the 38-year old chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe.[36]

“Power outages began with a storm in December knocking down around 5,000 power poles, and has been accelerated by an ice storm Jan. 22 knocking down another 3,000 power lines on the reservation.

Among the tribes of South Dakota said to be suffering from the multiple storms are Cheyenne River Sioux, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Flandreau-Santee Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.[37]

The Episcopal Church has steped in to help the reservations residents survive this winter but are in need of donations.[38][39][40]

See also

Wikinews has related news:

References

  1. ^ a b STORM SUMMARY NUMBER 06 FOR MID-ATLANTIC00 PM EST SAT FEB 06 2010
  2. ^ "BBC News - 'Snowmageddon' still gripping Washington and eastern US". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  3. ^ a b "Snowmageddon vs. Snowpocalypse: Which Cute Nickname Will Win?". Gawker.com. 2010-02-08. Retrieved 8 February 2010. Cite error: The named reference "DCist" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Powerful snowstorm hits U.S. East Coast". Reuters. 2010-02-06. Retrieved 6 February 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Ostro, Stu (2010-02-05). "Early-mid February is going to do it *yet again*!". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  6. ^ Tynan, Cecily (February 6, 2010). "Historic Snowstorm!". WPVI-TV. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  7. ^ KDKA-TV report of snow accumulations in Pittsburgh area
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10038/1034207-258.stm
  10. ^ a b c Ellingwood, Ken (February 6, 2010), "Mexico rainstorms leave at least 15 dead", Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ Robles, Johana (2010 February 5). "Baja probabilidad de lluvia en Valle de México". El Universal (in Spanish). Mexico City. Retrieved 2010 February 7. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ a b "Lluvia histórica sube nivel del Cutzamala". El Universal (in Spanish). Mexico City. 2010 February 4. Retrieved 2010 February 7. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Snow Closes I-40 West, Slows Many Roads, KRQE TV Albuquerque, NM, Accessed Feb 6, 2010
  14. ^ Rain drenches the state of Mississippi on Thursday; record rainfall in Jackson February 5, 11:24 am Jackson Weather Examiner Johnny Kelly
  15. ^ Latest winter storm brings a little of everything to North Carolina: snow, ice, sleet and rain By Associated Press 4:44 pm EST, February 5, 2010
  16. ^ February 5–6 Snow Event, National Weather Service Indianapolis, IN, Accessed Feb 6, 2010
  17. ^ a b Halsey, Ashley III; Weil, Martin (February 6, 2010), "Snowstorm's intensity has D.C. region hunkering down", Washington Post {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help).
  18. ^ "Travel grinds to halt after powerful mid-Atlantic snowstorm", CNN, February 6, 2010 {{citation}}: |first= missing |last= (help).
  19. ^ Roylance, Frank D.; Bowie, Liz; Dresser, Michael; Wheeler, Timothy B. (February 6, 2010), "'Extremely dangerous' storm buries Md. in snow Residents urged to stay at home, off roads; BWI, most transit operations shut down", Baltimore Sun {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help).
  20. ^ "Capital Is Crippled as Blizzard Continues", New York Times, February 7, 2010.
  21. ^ Supak, Supak, "Prince William Ice Center collapses", InsideNOVA.com.
  22. ^ Multiple roof collapses around region
  23. ^ Coyle, Jillian, "Northeast DC Church's Roof Collapses", WUSA 9.
  24. ^ http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0210/703672.html
  25. ^ FCNP.com, Roof of Firehouse in Bailey's Crossroads Collapses Under Weight of Snow Monday, February 08 2010 12:43
  26. ^ "Dupont Circle Snowball Fight a Success", http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/dupont-circle-snowball-fight-success-blizzard-2010-2570808.html
  27. ^ "Blizzard Blasts Eastern U.S. http://thejakartaglobe.com/media/images/large/afp20091220102502701.jpg
  28. ^ "Intensas lluvias en México han dejado 28 muertos". La Crónica (in Spanish). Mexico City. EFE. 2010 February 5. Retrieved 2010 February 7. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ California Woman Killed in New Mexico Car Crash, Fresno Bee, Accessed Feb 6, 2010
  30. ^ "2 Die In Accident During Snowstorm In Va". The Associated Press. 2010-02-05. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  31. ^ Bolden, Michael (2010-02-05). "Accidents on the rise in Md., Va". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  32. ^ http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010100207017
  33. ^ Kane, Karen. "Two dead, dozens sickened trying to keep warm". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  34. ^ "Father, Daughter Dead In McKeesport; Carbon Monoxide Suspected". WTAE. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  35. ^ Thomas, Lillian. "Canonsburg man found dead at bottom of staircase". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  36. ^ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094304575029450101290726.html
  37. ^ http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/plains/83646472.html
  38. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/emergency-help-desperatel_b_439444.html
  39. ^ http://www.episcopal-life.org/81803_119217_ENG_HTM.htm
  40. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/us/01reservation.html

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to North American blizzard of 2010.
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