| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | January 11, 2007 |
| Dissipated | January 24, 2007 |
| Category 2 "Minor" winter storm | |
| Regional snowfall index: 3.05 (NOAA) | |
| Lowest pressure | 961[1] |
| Maximum snowfall or ice accretion | 4 inches (10 cm) of ice (Oklahoma,Missouri), 32 inches (81 cm) of snow (Gaspe Peninsula) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 85+ total |
| Damage | $380 million |
| Areas affected | Eastern,Central United States, andEastern Canada |
Part of theWinter storms of 2006–07 | |
TheJanuary 2007 North American ice storm was a severeice storm that affected a large swath ofNorth America from theRio Grande Valley toNew England and southeasternCanada, starting on January 11 and lasting until January 16. It was followed by a second wave in theSouthern United States fromTexas to theCarolinas from January 16 through January 18, and a third one that hit the southern Plains and mid-Atlantic states as well asNewfoundland and Labrador from January 19 to January 24. It resulted in at least 74 deaths across 12 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces, and caused hundreds of thousands of residents across the U.S. and Canada tolose electric power.[2][3]
The event was similar to the1998 Ice storm that struck portions of easternCanada and northernNew England, which were affected by multiple waves of ice precipitation over a period of five days.
Before the storm, most ofNorth America experienced very mild conditions through the first week and a half of January, with several record-breaking warm temperatures across most of the Midwest and Eastern U.S. and Canada. Several regions had recorded warmer than normal temperatures for over 30 days in a row. On January 8, acold front, which was responsible for a majorblizzard acrossAlberta,Saskatchewan andManitoba, sagged across most of the continent, bringing with it much colder temperatures. A deeptrough in the jet stream favored a more active weather pattern and waves of low pressure started to develop over theGulf of Mexico starting on January 17.
The main storm developed in the Southwest of the U.S. and quickly expanded over the Deep South near the Gulf of Mexico. Frozen precipitation spread across a wide region, from northernTexas north and east to the New England States as arctic air sank southward with overriding warm air from theGulf of Mexico.[4] Ice storm warnings were in effect for northwesternArkansas, centralIllinois, extreme southeasternKansas, a large part ofMissouri, central and easternOklahoma, northern and centralTexas as well as portions ofMichigan,Indiana andOntario. Several waves of precipitation crossed those states from the 12th to the 16th, including the main event on the 14th.
The main storm moved northeastward, affecting theGreat Lakes region, New England and theCanadian Maritimes from January 14 to January 16. With the exception of southern Ontario andNova Scotia, most of the precipitation in Canada fell in the form of snow. The storm departedNewfoundland and Labrador later on January 16.
Meanwhile, another wave developed near the U.S.–Mexico border and tracked east across southeastern Texas towards theCarolinas January 16 to January 18. It brought a wintry mix, including a heavysnowstorm, to easternCanada andMaine on the 19th. In the Gulf of Mexico, high wind speeds.
A second winter storm developed inTexas and brought another round of heavy wintry precipitation fromArizona into theGreat Lakes region. The large storm also affected the Midwest and some of the mid-Atlantic states before moving into theAtlantic Ocean and hittingNewfoundland and Labrador on January 24 before heading towards theArctic region.
Governor of OklahomaBrad Henry declared astate of emergency for the entire state due to the ice storm.[5] U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush later declared Oklahoma a federal disaster area.[6]
In Oklahoma, in addition to major tree damage, about 40,000 customers lost power after the first wave of freezing rain on January 12. After additional waves of ice and sleet, 120,000 customers were without power (60 000 of them for over a week). One of the hardest hit areas was the city ofMcAlester in the eastern part of the state inPittsburg County where most of the town was without power for several days.[7][8] Thousands of residents sought refuges set up by theAmerican Red Cross with 1,000 still remaining as of January 20th.[2]
For the first time in the history of theBig 12 Conference, a conferencebasketball game was postponed when theOklahoma State men's team was not able to fly out of eitherStillwater orOklahoma City to make its January 13 game atNebraska.[9] The game was rescheduled to March 5.[10] For the second time this season, anNBA game was postponed due to severe winter weather. TheNew Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, scheduled to play theMilwaukee Bucks inMilwaukee on January 13, were unable to catch a flight out ofOklahoma City.[11] The following day, a second Big 12 basketball game, this time a women's game betweenOklahoma andTexas Tech, was postponed when the Lady Raiders were not able to get toNorman. This game was rescheduled to January 22.[12]
In Oklahoma City on January 14, there was a 3-hour period of thundersleet between 8:45 am and 11:36 am with temperatures in the low to mid 20s.
Damage in the state totaled about $38 million (2007 USD).[13]
TheGovernor of Missouri,Matt Blunt, declared a state of emergency and called in theNational Guard.[14] In southwestern Missouri, a local disaster area was declared.[15]
At the peak of the storm, a total of 330,000 customers of Ameren were without power. InSpringfield, Missouri alone, about 70,000 were in the dark (with rural areas almost completely without power) with the worst still to come,[15] while in east Missouri and central Illinois, over 110,000 customers were without power, particularly aroundSt. Louis.[16] Some restoration took place that afternoon before the next round of freezing rain developed. Extensive damage to trees and power lines has been reported in Missouri.Amtrak service was also shut down across Missouri due to downed trees.[17][18] TheWhite House declared 34 counties including St. Louis disaster areas. Damage in Missouri totaled $352.9 million (2007 USD).[19]
Nearly 3,600 residents across the state sought refuge at 85 different shelters.[citation needed]
Most of the state endured several waves of precipitation. Precipitation fell from the Panhandle region nearAmarillo to theDallas andFort Worth area on January 13. Areas further south such asAustin,Waco andHouston were affected from January 14 to January 16.
In Texas, GovernorRick Perry's inauguration parade andMartin Luther King, Jr. Day festivities were cancelled while over 400 flights fromDallas/Fort Worth International Airport were cancelled on the 14th with several hundred additional trips cancelled during the following days. Several flights were also cancelled atAustin-Bergstrom International Airport as well as atSan Antonio International Airport. A large section ofInterstate 10 near theSan Antonio area had to be shut down on the 16th because of snow and ice covering the highway.[6] Several schools, universities and offices were shut down as well.
Power outages in the state were limited. Forty four hundred customers were without power in North Texas on January 15. Another 4,500 homes were blacked out in central Texas near the San Antonio area. Over 35,000 were left without power in the state's capital ofAustin between January 12 and 18.[20][21][22]
NinetyNational Guard members were mobilized prior to the second major storm on January 19 and 20.[citation needed]
Freezing rain hit the Carolinas on the 17th and 18th, leading to school closures in both states, including in theCharlotte andRaleigh-Durham regions, as well as theColumbia, South Carolina, area. Several flights fromRaleigh-Durham andCharlotte international airports were canceled, and police in North Carolina reported over 600 traffic accidents, including two fatal ones and two accidents involving school buses.[23]
On December 11, 2007, at least 4 people died in a storm in at least 2 states after a winter storm rolled through the Southern Plains, mainly hittingKansas, but also some of the other states in the southernMidwest.[3]
The storm also hit Colorado, which was previously hit with several blizzard events in December. It shut down parts ofInterstate 70 betweenDenver andKansas City. Power was lost due to blowing snow and whiteout conditions.[24]
On January 21, aNorthwest Airlines plane linkingMilwaukee toDetroit via Flight 1726 slipped off a snow-filled runway after a mechanical failure during the storm. No injuries were reported in the incident, which took place shortly after takeoff fromGeneral Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee.[25] TheNew Orleans Hornets (who played inOklahoma City at the time) andMilwaukee Bucks game was postponed due to the ice storm in Wisconsin.[26]
200,000 homes in Michigan were at one point without power, while 145,000 in New York and New Hampshire also lost electricity. About 20,000Hydro One customers in Ontario, especially near theLake Erie shoreline, were without power, along with many more homes across the province.GO Train service in Toronto as well as flights fromPearson International Airport were heavily affected on the 15th.Ontario Provincial Police reported nearly 500 traffic accidents in the region, including one involving a tractor trailer carryingliquid oxygen that slid on its side after a collision in the interchange ofHighways 400 and407.[27] Another accident nearDrummondville involving a bus injured 24 American students, who were inQuebec on a ski tour.
Heavy snows and mixed precipitation inAtlantic Canada and eastern Quebec caused by aweather bomb disrupted travel on the 19th. TheConfederation Bridge linkingNew Brunswick toPrince Edward Island had to be shut down to truck traffic for several hours due to strong winds and mixed precipitation. Many schools in New Brunswick including theFredericton andMoncton areas were closed. Local power outages were reported. Several roads in the Quebec regions ofGaspésie andCôte-Nord including Routes132,138, and195 have been completely shut down due to heavy amount of snow and blowing snow.[28] Schools were also closed in Newfoundland and Labrador due to blizzard conditions on the 24th.[29]
At least 87 people were killed, most of them in traffic accidents, by the series of winter storms; fourteen inMissouri, eight inIowa, twelve inTexas, two inMinnesota, four inNew York, one inMaine, one inIndiana, four inMichigan, three inArkansas, one inQuebec, one inOntario, one inNova Scotia, two inNorth Carolina, three inKansas, four inNebraska and twenty-six inOklahoma. An accident nearElk City, Oklahoma, killed seven occupants who were inside aminivan when it hit atractor-trailer during the storm.[30][31][32][33][34][35][3]
About 2 inches (5 cm) of ice and sleet were reported fromTexas toIllinois after 3 rounds of freezing rain with locally heavier amounts especially inMissouri andOklahoma where there were reports of amounts exceeding 4 inches (10 cm).[32][36][37]
Heavy amounts of ice were also reported across portions of Lower Michigan, in southern Ontario fromWindsor toToronto and inNew York andNew Hampshire.
Heavy snows also fell across the northwestern quadrant of the storm. Heavy snows fell in parts ofNebraska andColorado on the 13th and 14th, with more eastern areas such asIowa,Wisconsin,Michigan,Maine,Ontario,Quebec andNew Brunswick being on the 15th and 16th.Montreal andSherbrooke received just over 8 inches (200 mm) of snow. Portions ofMaine received as much as 10 inches (250 mm).
Near blizzard conditions were reported inAtlantic Canada and eastern Quebec on the 19th. In theGaspésie region of Quebec, as much as 32 inches (810 mm) of snow fell.[28] There were others reports of snowfall of between 8 and 18 inches (20–45 cm) across Atlantic Canada. Damaging winds in excess of 60 mph (100 km/h) were also reported along with blowing snow. Maine also received up to 10 additional inches (25 cm) of snow from this wave of precipitation.
Between 4 and 10 inches (10–25 cm) of snow fell across the central and southern Plains from the 19th to the 21st as the result of another large winter storm. Places such asPhoenix andTucson inArizona also received a rare light snowfall on the 21st while a foot of snow was reported in the mountains in the northern part of the state.[24]
About 10 inches of snow was reported in parts of Newfoundland and Labrador on the 24th, while mixed wintry precipitation was reported in the capitalSt. John's along with winds in excess of 65 mph (105 km/h).[38]
The first large winter storm was followed by a period of intense cold across most of the continent with some of the coldest temperatures recorded so far in 2006–07 winter season through most of the continent. Deep cold was reported fromCalifornia toNova Scotia.Mount Washington, New Hampshire's highest peak at 6,288' (1917m), recorded awindchill of −85 °F (−65 °C) early on 17 January.[39][40]
Due to the cold spell's effect, a large portion ofCalifornia'sorange crops were damaged.
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