NATIIONAL STORM SUMMARY

DECEMBER 2005

1st-10th...Severe thunderstorms in the Southeast spawned tornadoes
Monday, while snow, some of it heavy, fell in the mid-Atlantic, the
Plains and the Rockies.
Several tornadoes swept through parts of the Florida Panhandle and
southern Georgia as showers and thunderstorms fired up along a cold
front. Moderate to heavy snow fell over parts of the mid-Atlantic. Icy
conditions were reported in eastern Virginia. Light to moderate snow
fell over Minnesota and Wisconsin. A weak front produced light snow
from the northern Rockies into the Plains.
In the East, lake effect snowfall developed in Michigan, New York,
Ohio, and Pennsylvania on Wednesday. Isolated light snow was also
reported in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Rome, New York
received over 9 inches of snow, with over one foot of snow falling in
Glenmore, New York. Skies were variably cloudy across the Mid-Atlantic
and Ohio Valley regions, with scattered rain showers across the
Southeast and lower Mississippi River Valley. Rainfall amounts were
generally under a half an inch. Across the central region, scattered
snow showers developed over areas of the central Plains and Midwest.
Periods of heavy snow fell in Emporia, Kansas. Over 3 inches of
snowfall was recorded in Roeland Park, Kansas, while northern Kansas
City, Missouri received 2 inches of snow. 4 inches of snow fell in
Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. A mixture of sleet, freezing rain, rain and
snow developed in eastern Oklahoma and northern Texas. Dallas, Texas
received light freezing rain early in the afternoon hours, and icy
roads contributed to over 50 automobile accidents in the area.
Temperatures remained well below normal over the region, with high
temperatures in the single digits and teens from the Canadian border
southward into Oklahoma and northern Texas. In the West, a low pressure
system pushed onshore near southern Oregon, bringing rain showers and
mountain snowfall to the Pacific Northwest and the northern half of
California. 0.66 inches of rain was reported in Arcata, California,
with the remainder of the region reporting rainfall amounts under one
half-inch. Snowfall was also reported in Colorado and New Mexico, with
5 inches of snow in Angel Fire, New Mexico. Across the northern and
central Rockies, Great Basin, and Desert Southwest, skies were partly
cloudy to mostly clear with high pressure in control of the region.
Storms across the nation's midsection delivered freezing cold and as
much as 10 inches of snow by Thursday, bedeviling drivers on slippery
roads and closing schools from Texas to Indiana. At least 10 people
were killed in road wrecks in Kansas, Missouri and Kentucky over two
days. In Texas, a mother and son died in a fire sparked by an
improperly installed wood-burning stove. In Chicago, a Southwest
Airlines jet trying to land in heavy snow Thursday evening slid off a
runway at Midway International Airport, crashed through a fence and
skidded into a busy street, where it struck at least two vehicles. A
6-year-old boy in one of the vehicles was killed, authorities said. He
was among eight people hurt on the ground. Two passengers on the plane
suffered minor injuries, Aviation Department spokeswoman Wendy Abrams
said. No injuries were reported on the plane, but at least one person
was seriously hurt in a vehicle on the ground, an official said. The
eastbound storm system was expected to leave a half-foot of snow in
central Illinois and 3 to 5 inches in the Chicago area, where by late
afternoon about 30 flights had been canceled at O'Hare International
and Midway. In Indiana, dozens of schools dismissed students early, and
community groups and churches canceled events, as many cities reported
4 to 6 inches of snow by evening. The heaviest snow _ up to 10 inches _
fell along the Interstate 35 corridor into Kansas City, said Greg Koch,
a National Weather Service forecaster. Temperatures in the city fell
into the single digits. The St. Louis region received 2 to 4 inches.
Also in southeast Missouri, a Greyhound bus struck the rear of a state
truck that was plowing a two-lane highway near Greenville. Plunkett
said seven or eight passengers were hurt, but none of the injuries was
life-threatening. Numerous vehicles slipped off roads or got into
fender benders, troopers said. On a snow-packed interstate near
Edgerton, KS, a 31 year old woman's pickup slid across the median
Wednesday and collided with another vehicle, killing her and her
4-year-old daughter, authorities said.
A storm spread a blanket of snow up to a foot thick across much of the
Northeast on Friday, snarling commutes, closing schools and piling up
the flakes so fast that shovel crews could barely keep up. At least
three fatal crashes were blamed on the storm, including a New Jersey
couple who died when a sport utility vehicle crashed through their
bedroom. Along the Massachusetts-New Hampshire line, the snow fell at a
rate of two inches per hour. It also fell quickly throughout
Connecticut, lowering visibility on highways and secondary roads. The
storm, which dumped up to 10 inches of snow in the Midwest, left as
much as 14 inches in parts of New Hampshire; a foot in portions of
Massachusetts and around Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; and 10 inches in northwest
New Jersey. In Boston, a plane was forced to make an emergency landing
after it was struck by lightning from the storm as it approached the
runway. No injuries were reported among the 35 passengers and three
crew members aboard Comair Flight 5437 from Baltimore, but a spokesman
for Logan Airport said the plane sustained minor damage. Airports
throughout the region canceled flights and reported delays, while
schools were canceled from Maryland to Maine. The storm wound down in
the southern part of the region by Friday morning, leaving behind rain
and slush in many areas. The storm was blamed for at least 10 deaths in
Kansas, Missouri, Indiana; five other fatalities in Kentucky were
described as possibly storm-related. In Chicago, a jet trying to land
in heavy snow Thursday evening slid off a runway at Midway
International Airport and into a busy street, killing a 6-year-old boy
and injuring 10 other people.

11th-17th...A jolt of freezing rain and ice across Georgia and the
Carolinas early Thursday closed schools, snarled traffic and caused
power outages to more than 50,000 customers. The outages were caused by
ice that formed on tree limbs and fell onto power lines. About 160,000
were without power in South Carolina's upstate, 102,000 in northeast
Georgia, 57,000 in the Atlanta area and 40,000 in western and central
North Carolina. Mountains of North Carolina and Virginia were being hit
with a hazardous mix of snow and sleet, with accumulations from 1 to 3
inches expected overnight. The wintry mix was blamed for a school bus
accident in Cherokee County, on the northern end of suburban Atlanta.
The driver swerved to avoid a large tree branch that had fallen across
the road, forcing the vehicle's rear tires to slide off the road. None
of the 23 students aboard the bus was injured.

18th-24th...A rain-laden storm continued to pound the Pacific Northwest
on Tuesday, while heavy snow blanketed the eastern shores of the Great
Lakes. The storm in the Northwest brought high waves, rain and mountain
snow from the San Francisco Bay area to the Canadian border. Another
system brought more than an inch an hour of snow east of Lake Ontario.
A large and powerful storm spread rain Wednesday from northern
California to the Canadian border. Clear skies and chilly temperatures
prevailed in much of the East. Some of the heaviest rain from the
Pacific storm drenched Portland and
Seattle. Much of Washington's interior was under a freezing rain
advisory. Lake effect snow fell in parts of New York

25th-31st...High winds downed trees and power lines, cutting off
electricity to thousands of homes across the Pacific Northwest as a
storm system moved across the region Sunday. Snow dusted parts of the
Mississippi and Ohio Valley as well as northern New England on Sunday,
while rain fell along the West Coast. A low pressure system will
continue through the Northeast, bringing the bulk of the precipitation
to northern New England, then gradually diminishing through the day.
Another moist system will push through the West Coast. A low pressure
system will continue through the Northeast, bringing the bulk of the
precipitation to northern New England, then gradually diminishing
through the day. Another moist system will push through the West Coast.
Widespread rain and high elevation snow fell as a cold front pushed
into the Pacific Northwest and worked its way west into the northern
Rockies.
Heavy rain fell from the San Francisco Bay Area to Washington state
Tuesday, while snow fell in Maine. The heaviest rainfall from a system
along the West Coast was in California, where river levels climbed and
flood watches were issued in coastal regions. Meanwhile, snow fell in
the western slopes of the
Sierra Nevadas, but it quickly turned to rain. A separate front moved
into eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho, bringing more rain to the
region.
Thunderstorms packing rain, strong wind and hail moved through Alabama
and Georgia on Wednesday, and parts of the Ohio Valley and West Coast
also experienced stormy weather. Golfball-sized hail fell on several
cities in Georgia and Alabama, including Talladega, AL, as the storm
system pushed into the Southeast and parts of the Ohio Valley. A roof
was blown off a small barn in
Powell, KY. Parts of the West Coast had heavy rain as a storm and cold
front moved through the region. Some mountainous areas also had heavy
snow.
A drenching winter storm swelled rivers in northern California to their
highest levels in seven years, causing power outages and forcing some
residents to evacuate. Flood warnings were in effect for the northern
half of the state after the storm swept through Tuesday and Wednesday.
One person was killed in a car crash caused by a mudslide. Soccer
fields at Riverfront Park sit under more than a foot of water in
Marysville, CA. on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005. A series of heavy winter
storms is causing Northern California's most widespread flooding in
seven years, although officials credit flood-control measures for
keeping damage to a minimum. "It's been several years since we've had
this widespread of flooding, and we're not done," said Rob Hartman of
the National Weather Service's California-Nevada River Forecast Center
in Sacramento. The last significant flooding in the region was during
the El Nino year of 1998 and a year earlier, when three people died
after levees collapsed north of Sacramento. The danger is lower this
time because there is relatively little snow in the Sierra Nevada to be
melted by the warm rains, officials said. In Modesto, a mudslide led to
a pileup that killed a motorist Monday. And in Mendocino County, four
homes were evacuated after a landslide Tuesday night. Rivers were
cresting from the Napa County wine country to the far northern coast,
including the Russian, Navarro, Scott, Klamath and Eel rivers. They
were expected to rise to flood stage periodically through the weekend
without causing severe damage.
A winter storm packing snow and wind gusts to 75 mph blew across the
Colorado Rockies on Thursday, knocking down trees, causing accidents
and shutting down roads including heavily traveled Interstate 70 west
of Denver. Drivers slowed to a crawl on icy, snowpacked roads in the
mountains an hour outside Denver. Vehicles slid off the highway near
Georgetown and farther west, on Vail Pass, said Eric Escudero of the
Colorado Department of Transportation. The pass and Loveland Pass were
closed at various times due to weather and accidents. A snow plow
clears Interstate 70 near Georgetown, CO, on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2005. A
winter storm packing snow and wind gusts to 75 mph blew across the
Colorado Rockies on Thursday, knocking down trees, causing accidents
and shutting down roads including heavily traveled Interstate 70 west
of Denver. Snow and blowing snow advisories were issued through Monday
evening for much of the northern and central mountains. Aspen reported
a half-mile visibility as snow fell, the National Weather Service said.
Copper Mountain Ski Resort reported 6 inches of new snow in the past 24
hours Thursday afternoon, and the Loveland ski area at the Continental
Divide reported 9. South of Denver, a wind gust of 75 mph was reported
near Chatfield Reservoir as the storm reached the metropolitan area,
spitting out rain and snow and sending dust blowing through the streets
of downtown. The highest gust at Denver International Airport was 64
mph. The wind downed several trees in Denver, with one falling on a
pickup truck and some falling onto houses, Denver TV stations reported.
Two small chimneys blew off another house.
Heavy rainfall caused flooding Friday throughout Northern California
and western Oregon, where surging rivers only swelled more with the
onslaught of more sustained rains. Several rivers were at or above
flood stage through the Sacramento Valley by early afternoon. Many
areas of Northern California and southern Oregon received several
inches of rain by midday. Extremely heavy snowfall is expected in the
mountains of California on Saturday Dec. 31, 2005 with up to 6 feet of
snow expected in some areas. Lower elevations won't see the heavy snow,
but up to 10 inches of rain could fall by the time this storm leaves
the region. Moisture surging ahead of this system spread snow showers
over much of southern Idaho beginning in the late morning hours.
Moderate to heavy rainfall was reported over the Upper Mississippi
Valley, including Missouri and Illinois. Meanwhile, light snow fell in
Wisconsin and Michigan.