NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

DECEMBER 2004

1st-4th...A blustery cold front pushed into the East and South on Wednesday,
generating rain and snow along the Atlantic coast. Heavy rain drenched parts of
New York and Pennsylvania as the cold front moved into the East; Utica, NY,
reported nearly 1 1/2 inches. Scattered snow was reported across parts of lower
Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, with accumulations
ranging from 2-4 inches by midday. Winds gusting to more than 50 mph were
reported in West Virginia, knocking out power to thousands of people. High
winds also blew through Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

5th-11th...Rain and snow fell across much of the Northeast and the nation's
midsection Monday amid cloudy and cold conditions that stretched from Texas to
Virginia. Storms developed over the East Coast and as far west as New Mexico
and the Texas panhandle. Binghamton, NY, reported 3 inches of snow, while
Houston reported 1.21 inches of rain. Some snow was also reported around the
Great Lakes.
Storms moved from Washington through California on Wednesday, triggering
scattered rain showers and mountain snow. Light snow also was reported in
Colorado while rain in the East ended by early afternoon. In the western
storms, Ukiah, Calif., reported nearly 2 inches of rain by midday; Bremerton,
WA, had a little over 1 inch of precipitation. Snow at elevations above 4,000
feet was in the 3-6 inch range, with higher amounts in the Sierra Nevada of
northern California. Widespread rain showers and thunderstorms moved through
Pennsylvania and New York, but were out of the area by early afternoon. Light
lake effect snow was reported across western New York. Light showers were
reported across southern Georgia and northern Florida.

26th-31st...A storm spread up to 18 inches of snow along the coast of the
Northeast on Monday and locally heavy rain soaked parts of California. The
storm in the East dumped more than 8 inches of snow on the eastern tip of New
York's Long Island, 10 in Rhode Island and 18 on Cape Cod, with lesser amounts
in New Hampshire and Maine as it headed out to sea. The storm had skimmed the
East Coast on a northeasterly track after spreading ice and more than 9 inches
of snow in North Carolina and 14 inches of snow in Virginia on Sunday. A strong
low pressure system in the West produced moderate to heavy rain showers in
California, with lighter rain and isolated snow showers in parts of southern
Nevada, Utah, Arizona, southern Idaho and Colorado. Redding, CA, had measured
2.12 inches of rain by midday Monday, and up to 5 inches of snow fell in
California's Sierra Nevada range, with 10 inches possible at higher elevations.
A powerful storm battered the West for a third straight day Wednesday, forcing
hundreds of people out of a scenic region of Arizona, sending recreational
vehicles floating down a flooded creek and turning Southern California freeways
into a virtual demolition derby. The storm spawned a tornado in Southern
California and blacked out more than 140,000 customers in the area while making
for treacherous driving conditions. The California Highway Patrol logged 220
crashes between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning - more than three times the
normal amount. Police reported hundreds of traffic accidents around Las Vegas,
where firefighters rescued several drivers from cars stalled in deep water. No
serious injuries were reported. At least 300 people were evacuated because of
flooding in low-lying areas of Sedona, where Oak Creek rose 11 feet during the
night, reaching 14 feet by late morning. It was likely to crest at 16 1/2 feet,
the National Weather Service said. Some homes had minor flooding and people
were stranded in water-logged vehicles in Sedona, a town of some 10,000 people
surrounded by towering red rock formations that draw hundreds of thousands of
tourists. Large RVs were seen floating down Oak Creek southwest of Sedona.
Elsewhere, 100 people were evacuated from two mobile home parks in Black Canyon
City about 40 miles north of Phoenix. The rain also caused rock slides,
authorities said. Up to 2.4 inches of rain had fallen on parts of the rugged
area of central Arizona, the weather service said. The California tornado
struck two Los Angeles suburbs after midnight, ripping the roof off a house,
snapping trees and damaging cars, but causing no injuries. Storm-related deaths
since Monday mounted to five in California, and several highways were closed
because of flooding and mudslides, officials said. High wind in San Diego
County snapped off the top 200 feet of the KSON radio tower in National City.
By early Wednesday, downtown Los Angeles had logged 6.37 inches of rain since
late Sunday. Tuesday's total alone was 5.55 inches, the city's rainiest
December day since record-keeping started in 1877. On Monday, San Francisco was
hit by more than 3 inches of rain and suburban Marin County got more than 7
inches. In Utah, 19 inches of snow fell at the Brian Head Resort, but skiers
couldn't take advantage of it because 70 mph wind prevented the resort from
starting its chair lifts.
A slow-rolling series of storms that battered the West this week brought
snowfall and high wind Thursday to parts of California, where weather-weary
residents have already endured lashing rain, heavy snowfall and a destructive
tornado. Since the wild weather began slogging ashore Monday, five deaths in
California and two in Colorado have been blamed on storms. Two college students
disappeared after their canoe capsized in a flooded creek in Arizona. A body
found Thursday was believed to be one of the students; the other remained
missing. On Thursday, up to a foot of snow fell on Colorado mountains, and
northern Nevada was expecting as much as 7 feet on top of the 2-3 feet that
already had fallen. In Arizona, residents of Sedona - a tourist community known
for its stunning red rock formations - began cleaning up after a heavy storm
bloated a creek from a trickling stream to a rushing river of mud. Residents in
an area including three resorts, an RV and mobile home park, and 40 homes had
been urged to evacuate after the flooding Wednesday. California had been taking
the brunt of the Pacific barrage, and more rain and wind were forecast for the
Northern California coast by Thursday night. Inland, a winter storm warning was
posted around Lake Tahoe on the Northern California-Nevada line. A combination
of heavy snow and wind gusting to 100 mph over the higher elevations shut down
Interstate 80 and U.S. 50 overnight. In Southern California, two days of
downpours have brought up to 12 inches of rain and scores of highway accidents.
In southern Nevada, more than 1 1/2 inches of rain fell in 24 hours at the Las
Vegas airport - a third of the city's normal yearly total - and hundreds of
accidents were reported. As the storm moved east, three Colorado highways were
closed, one from accidents and two by avalanches. The two storm victims in
Colorado died when their pickup truck hit a jackknifed trailer Wednesday night.
The victims, Tom Thorne and Beth Williams, were a husband-and-wife team of
wildlife veterinarians who were nationally prominent experts on chronic wasting
disease and brucellosis. Elsewhere, freezing rain put an icy layer on roads in
the northern Plains early Thursday, sending vehicles into ditches.