 Satellite image of the nor'easter on December 20 near theMid-Atlantic states. | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 16, 2009[1] |
| Dissipated | December 20, 2009 |
| Category 4 "Crippling" blizzard | |
| Regional snowfall index: 12.78 (NOAA) | |
| Lowest pressure | 968 millibars (28.6 inHg)[3] |
| Maximum snowfall or ice accretion | 26.3 inches (67 cm)[2] |
| Tornado outbreak | |
| Tornadoes | 4 |
| Maximum rating | EF0 tornado |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 7[4] |
| Areas affected | East Coast of the United States (fromNorth Carolina toMaine) Canadian Atlantic provinces (portions ofNova Scotia,Newfoundland,Labrador)[5] |
Part of the2009–10 North American winter | |
TheDecember 2009 North American blizzard was a powerfulnor'easter that formed over theGulf of Mexico in December 2009, and became a major snowstorm that affected theEast Coast of the United States andCanadian Atlantic provinces. The snowstorm brought record-breaking December snowfall totals toWashington, D.C.,Baltimore, andPhiladelphia.
Theblizzard disrupted several regions, and in some areas the snowfall rate preventedsnow plows from maintaining the roads. The blizzard caused flights and trains to be canceled, and left areas without power. Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, andNew Castle andKent counties in Delaware declared astate of emergency. Seven deaths were reported to have been caused by the storm.
On December 16, 2009,meteorologists identified a storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico.[6] It produced recordrainfall in regions ofTexas and had the potential to strengthen as it moved throughGeorgia andFlorida and further north.Weather models accurately predicted that this storm would meet with cold air while retaining its heavyprecipitation.[1] By the afternoon of December 19, the large, low pressure region had moved off theEast Coast, intensifying and bringing heavy snow to the majorMid-Atlantic cities.[7][8]Blizzard warnings were issued inWashington, D.C.,Baltimore, andLong Island.[1] As the storm moved northward along the East coast, at one point it measured 500 miles (800 km) across 14 states.[9] The storm producedwhiteout conditions and dumped about 16–20 inches (41–51 cm) of snow in major cities along theEastern seaboard.[10]
The storm produced record 24-hour snowfall in Washington, D.C., andRoanoke, Virginia, where nearly 2 feet (61 cm) of snow accumulated. Interior areas of West Virginia saw 30 inches (76 cm) of snow.[2] The storm broke the record for the amount of snow in a single December event atRonald Reagan Washington National Airport, where 16.4 inches (42 cm) of snow accumulated.[8][11] TheNational Weather Service inBrookhaven, New York reported 26.3 inches (67 cm) of snow, the town's largest snowfall since 1949.[12][13]
InPhiladelphia, snowfall reached more than 2 inches (5.1 cm) per hour, resulting in significant disruption ofInterstate 95.[1] By Sunday, December 20, 23.2 inches (59 cm) of snowfall had accumulated in Philadelphia, surpassing the city's second-largest record 21 inches (53 cm) snowfall of February 11–12, 1983 – which itself was surpassed less than two months later by theFebruary 5–6, 2010 North American blizzard. The storm also broke a 100-year-old record for the largest single December storm, previously 20.2 inches (51 cm) on December 25–26, 1909.[14] The storm was reported by meteorologists to share attributes of the 1983 storm.[15]
In moremountainous areas, snowfall was even heavier. By midnight Saturday morning, snowfall inBoone, North Carolina had reached 14–18 inches (36–46 cm),Asheville, North Carolina accumulated up to 12 inches (30 cm), whileGreensboro, North Carolina received 3–7 inches (7.6–17.8 cm). Portions ofeastern Kentucky received as much as 16 inches (41 cm).[16] In the Roanoke Valley, over 11 inches (28 cm) had fallen by midnight. By Sunday morning,Norwich, Connecticut received 20 inches (51 cm) of snow, while over 11 inches (28 cm) of snow fell inBoston, Massachusetts.[17]
Winter storm warnings for New York and a blizzard warning forLong Island expired at 11 a.m. Sunday, warnings for the Boston and Providence metro areas and much of southeastern New England expired at noon. A blizzard warning forCape Cod expired at 1 p.m.[18] The storm reached southwestern portions ofNova Scotia, delivering up to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) of snow inDigby,Yarmouth,Shelburne andQueens counties. Portions ofNewfoundland andLabrador receivedfreezing rain as well.[5][19]
|
Some regions affected by the storm experienced winds up to 25–30 miles per hour (40–48 km/h) with gusts of 45–50 miles per hour (72–80 km/h).[2]Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport,Washington Dulles International Airport, andBaltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport saw whiteout conditions, causing flights to be delayed or canceled. Of 740 scheduled departures at Washington National and 530 at Dulles, only 14 and 12, respectively, were able to take off.[20] PresidentBarack Obama, arriving atAndrews Air Force Base after theUN Climate Conference, was forced to return to theWhite House by motorcade instead of helicopter.[21] More than 800 flights were canceled at New York City's three major airports.[22] Delays averaged over six hours atPhiladelphia International Airport.[23]
ManyAmtrak trains were also canceled or delayed and service on Washington, D.C.'sMetrorail was suspended to all outdoor stations at 1 pm on December 19 and remained suspended until late in the day December 20; underground service remained operational.[20] OneAmtrak train, carrying 255 passengers, halted for six hours while a frozen track switch was fixed.[11]
On roads,snow plows were unable to keep up with fast snow accumulations. Road accidents and stuck vehicles further hindered snow removal. On some major highways, traffic slowed to five miles per hour.[24] In West Virginia, onI-77 between Ghent and Beckley, thousands of motorists were stranded for up to 18 hours due to impassable roads. The interstate was closed for 15 hours. GovernorJoe Manchin has launched a full investigation into why the roads were in such poor condition.Greyhound Lines canceled 294 routes through Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia on December 19 and suspended service in and out of New York late Saturday.[25]
Thousands ofpower outages were reported in Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina, reportedly caused by snow weighing down on power lines. By midnight Saturday morning, when the storm had just begun to strike the area, reported power outages had already exceeded 40,000.[1] In Kentucky, 107,000 power outages were reported.[16] A snow emergency was declared in Washington, D.C., whereMayorAdrian Fenty asked residents to avoid venturing onto the roads.[26]States of emergency were declared in Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia andNew Castle andKent counties in Delaware.[25]
The storm was held responsible for seven deaths in North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, including one death resulting from ahead-on collision between asnowmobile driver and ahorse-drawn carriage.[4]
The nor'easter, which arrived on the last weekend before Christmas, hurt sales atretail stores in affected regions, but boosted online sales.Super Saturday, the last Saturday before Christmas, typically nets $15 billion in retail sales.[27] It is estimated that 30% of this revenue comes from thenortheastern United States.[26] Stores that managed to open saw reduced traffic.[28] The storm resulted in an estimated loss of $2 billion in retail sales.[29]
Due to widespread accumulation of heavy snow, the storm was ranked as a high-end Category 2 ("significant") winter storm, on theNortheast Snowfall Impact Scale. The ranking is based on the amount of snowfall, the area, and the population affected.[30]
The same system produced severe weather inFlorida. Four EF0 tornadoes touched down in the state, causing mostly minor damage.[31]
