NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

JANUARY 2008



1st-5th...A fast-moving New Year's Day storm dumped more than a foot of
snow on southeastern Michigan, a record blast that made driving
hazardous, snarled the flight home for holiday travelers and
threatened to do the same in New England. Thousands of people in
Michigan and Ohio lost power. Authorities reported no deaths or
serious injuries from the six-hour burst of snow in Michigan that
started around midnight, but they said there were many spinouts and
minor accidents. The storm left 10 to 16 inches of snow across parts
of Oakland, Lapeer and St. Clair counties north of Detroit, the
National Weather Service said. The western St. Clair County community
of Capac reported 16 inches. In the heart of the storm, snow fell at a
rate of at least 2 inches an hour, with periods of 4 inches an hour.
Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, one of the nation's busiest,
canceled 145 flights Tuesday and reported delays of around 45 minutes
because of blowing snow. Passengers also experienced morning delays at
Detroit Metropolitan Airport, but operations were back to normal by
the afternoon, spokesman Michael Conway said. Utility officials
reported scattered power failures affecting more than 36,000 homes and
businesses at one time or another. The storm also blacked out 10,000
customers in northeast Ohio, mainly in areas east of Cleveland, said
Chris Eck, a spokesman for FirstEnergy Corp. Wind gusted to 51 mph at
Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport, the Weather Service said.
FirstEnergy repair crews had difficulty keeping up with the storm, Eck
said. "As they're getting lights on, lights are going off. They're
just fighting it as it happens," he said. Farther east, the weather
system spread snow across upstate New York and northern New England,
where it was expected to last into Wednesday and drop as much as a
foot of snow on parts of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. That
followed a storm in the Northeast on Monday that made it the snowiest
December in the region in decades. December's snowfall at Concord, NH,
totaled 44.5 inches, toppling a record of 43 inches that had stood
since 1876. Burlington, VT, received 45.7 inches, far above its 17.2-
inch December average, and Portland, Maine, amassed 37.7 inches for
its third-snowiest December on record. New Hampshire has already spent
$30 million on snow removal out of the $75 million budgeted for the
entire winter, said highway department spokesman Bill Boynton.
However, New England ski resorts enjoyed the flurry of storms after
last year's lack of snow early in the season. In Maine, it provided a
fresh layer on top of the roughly 6 feet that the state's two biggest
ski resorts, Sugarloaf USA and Sunday River, each got last month.
In the East on Wednesday, snowy and windy conditions prevailed across
much of the Northeast, Appalachians and the Great Lakes region on the
back side of a low pressure system. The heaviest snow fell in Maine
today, where accumulations of 6 to 12 inches occurred. The highest
total so far today has been at Cornville, Maine, which received 12
inches of snow. Generally three to six inches of snow accumulated in
New Hampshire, Vermont and east-central New York, although 7.3 inches
of snow fell at Whitehall, New York. Across the Great Lakes region and
Appalachians, generally one to four inches of snow fell so far today.
However, locally higher amounts occurred in Cuyahoga County in
northeastern Ohio today. Sustained winds of 15 to 30 mph, with gusts
as high as 40 mph, accompanied the snowfall, resulting in significant
blowing snow. In the central United States, an upper-level disturbance
brought snow showers and gusty winds to the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan, Wisconsin, and northern Illinois today. Accumulations were
generally an inch or less in most areas. However, lake-effect snows of
3 to eight inches fell across parts of northern Wisconsin and the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Wind gusts of 25 to 40 mph resulted in
blowing snow and reduced visibilities. In the West, rain and mountain
snow fell over western Washington and western Oregon in association
with a Pacific storm system. Rainfall totals so far today have
generally ranged between one-quarter and three-quarters of an inch.
However, 0.92 inches of rain fell at Quillayute, Washington so far
today. Snow accumulations of 2 to five inches occurred across the
Cascade Mountains of Washington and Oregon. Meanwhile, the Santa Ana
winds which have been pummeling southern California finally began to
subside this morning. High pressure produced dry weather across the
Rockies and Intermountain West.
Howling winds, pelting rain and heavy snow pummeled California on
Friday, toppling trees, flipping big rigs, cutting power to more than
a million people and forcing evacuations in mudslide-prone areas.
Flights were grounded and highways closed in Northern California as
gusts reached 80 mph during the second wave of an arctic storm that
sent trees crashing onto houses, cars and roads. Forecasters expected
the storm to dump as much as 10 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada by
Sunday. Highways from Sacramento to San Francisco were closed because
of debris or toppled big rigs blocking lanes, and local roads were
flooded. Interstate 80 was closed in the Sierra, the main link between
Northern California and Nevada. "A huge tree, over 100 years old, just
fell across the house. It just wrecked the whole thing," said Faye
Reed, whose daughter Teenia owns the damaged home north of Sacramento.
"They won't be able to live in it. The whole ceiling fell in, and now
it's raining inside." More than a million people from the Bay Area to
the Central Valley were in the dark. Crews worked to restore power,
but it could be days before all the lights are on, said Pacific Gas &
Electric spokeswoman Darlene Chiu. In Southern California, authorities
in Orange County ordered an estimated 3,000 residents to evacuate
homes in four canyons scarred by wildfires and therefore prone to
mudslides. "It's too late once the rain starts. These areas are
extremely vulnerable. You're risking your life and your family's life
fundamentally" by ignoring orders, said Steve Sellers of the
governor's Office of Emergency Services. Flash flood warnings were
issued in canyon burn areas in Malibu and in Los Angeles, Santa
Barbara and Ventura counties. Riverside and San Bernardino counties,
east of Los Angeles, deployed swift-water rescue teams as a
precaution. The California Highway Patrol reported flooding in the
area. The state opened its emergency operations center Friday morning
to coordinate storm response, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he
had spoken with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff by phone.
"Preparation is really the heart of this whole thing," Schwarzenegger
said after touring the state emergency operation center at the Los
Alamitos Joint Training Base.
Homeowners in Southern California stacked sandbags and hay bales
around their homes while residents in the low-lying areas of the
Central Valley piled sandbags to barricade their homes from streams
that forecasters warned might swell. After looking for a missing
Clovis family all afternoon, search teams found 64-year-old John
Hopper and his 15-year-old twins, Matt and Sarah, safe in a popular
hiking destination in the Sierra National Forest. CA. Crews found the
family with three other people who had apparently gotten trapped in
the woods after the storm hit, said Madera County Sheriff's
spokeswoman Erica Stuart. All six hikers were in good condition.
Travelers' flight plans were put on hold in the San Francisco Bay
Area, Sacramento and Los Angeles when airlines delayed or canceled
flights. The state Legislature in Sacramento closed offices and sent
employees home early. A wind gust of 125 mph was recorded in the
Sierra on Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service said. The
huge storm also toppled trees and cut power to thousands of residents
in Washington and Oregon. Meanwhile, a freeze in the East subsided.
Florida's citrus growers weathered the cold largely unscathed, but
strawberry and tomato growers watched as some of their crops
shriveled. A serious freeze would have devastated Florida's citrus
trees, already struggling from years of diseases and hurricanes. A
better picture of crop damage could come Monday, when the U.S.
Department of Agriculture releases a weekly progress report. At Bill
Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne, iguanas fell out of
trees Thursday. The cold-blooded reptiles go into a sort of
hibernation when temperatures get too low, even if they are perched in
branches. Most woke up when the weather warmed later in the day.

6th-12th...In the East, a long and slow-moving frontal system has been
the culprit for some widespread severe weather stretching from the
Great Lakes to the Southern Plains. So far today, 19 tornados have
been reported with the bulk of these across southwest Missouri into
northern Illinois and extreme southeast Wisconsin. This activity has
led to some damage to homes and businesses as well as a train derailed
in McHenry Country, Illinois. In addition, there has been one injury
from this activity out of Topeka, Illinois, where a roof has been
blown off from a home. Storms also brought wind gusts in excess of 60
mph and some large hail ranging from dime size to the size of golf
balls. Rainfall has already ranged from a half inch to over 1 inch in
spots and flash flooding has been occurring, mainly from Missouri to
northern Illinois. In the West, strong winds, heavy lower elevation
rainfall and heavy mountain snow continued to impact Southern
California and the Desert Southwest, spreading into the Four Corners
as well as the central and southern Rockies this afternoon. Snowfall
totals in northern Arizona have ranged from 11 to 18 inches, with a
report of 32 inches in Hart Prairie, Arizona. Lighter snow amounts of
6 to 12 inches were experienced across higher elevations of southern
Utah into Colorado and northern New Mexico with isolated amounts in
the higher elevations close to 20 inches through today. Rain was also
quite heavy earlier today from Southern California into central
Arizona and southern New Mexico where many areas picked up a half inch
to 1 inch. Scattered high elevation snow showers and low elevation
rain showers also impacted northern California, the Pacific Northwest,
the Great Basin and Intermountain Region as well as the northern
Rockies. Snow accumulations were generally in the 1 to 4 inch range.
In the West on Wednesday, snow was falling across the western Rockies
and northern Great Basin regions. Snowfall totals over the past 12
hours were generally between 3 and 7 inches, with a few higher
elevations receiving near one foot of snow. A few upper-level snow
showers and valley rains occurred across the Pacific Northwest, with
light snow accumulations reported.

13th-19th...A fierce snowstorm raced across northern New England on
Monday after burying parts of Massachusetts, dumping as much as 20
inches of snow in some places and forcing classes to be canceled at
hundreds of schools. After the snowiest December on record in some
parts of the region, and then a spell of spring-like warmth,
meteorologists said between a foot and 20 inches fell in southern
Maine. Roughly a foot fell in southern New Hampshire and areas west
and north of Boston.
A woman was killed and her child injured in a wreck on a snow-covered
highway in Maine, authorities said. A man was killed when his vehicle
crashed on a Vermont highway, but police did not say if it was weather-
related. In New Hampshire, the southern and central parts of the state
took the brunt of a storm as snowfall outpaced the state's fleet of
plow trucks. Maine got pounded with some of the heaviest snowfall of
the season: 20 inches in Gardiner, 16 inches in Denmark and 14 inches
in Auburn, said Tom Berman of the National Weather Service in Gray.
New Hampshire had similar amounts, ranging from 10 inches in Rochester
to 13 inches in Wolfeboro. Pine Plains, NY, near the Connecticut state
line, reported 7 inches, and Burlington, CT, had 6.5 inches. The
Boston area had about 5. Hundreds of public and private schools
canceled classes for the day across New England and in parts of
eastern New York. School officials were taking no chances, especially
after a Dec. 13 storm in which many youngsters in Providence, RI, were
stuck on buses for hours. That storm caused monumental traffic jams
around Boston. The New Hampshire Legislature canceled all events.
Flights were canceled at airports including Boston's Logan
International and Maine's Portland International Jetport. Utilities
reported scattered power failures, including a peak of more than
36,000 homes and businesses blacked out in Connecticut, said Mitch
Gross, a spokesman for Connecticut Light and Power. More than 9,000
lost power in Massachusetts, and Rhode Island had more than 11,000.
In the East on Friday, a winter storm pushed through the Northeast and
New England. Seven inches of snow fell in North Anson, Maine. Areas of
freezing rain developed in Massachusetts, and a glazing of ice
occurred. Snow showers also occurred in Michigan and east of Lake Erie
due to lake effect snowfall. One to two inches of accumulation
occurred during the morning hours.

20th-26th...In the West on Friday, a powerful low pressure system off
the California coast continued to bring widespread valley rains and
mountains snows to the state. Moderate to heavy rains were being
reported through the afternoon hours below 2,500 feet, with snows
above that level. Some areas have already seen an inch or more of
rainfall today, and reports of flash flooding, as well as creek and
river flooding, have been noted. In higher elevations, new snowfall of
4 to 8 inches has been reported, with storm total accumulation
reaching well over a foot in some areas. Farthering the already
hazardous weather in the region, portions of central California will
see sustained wind speeds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 65 mph. Higher
elevations will see increased wind speeds. Scattered snows were
falling across the central portion of Colorado, with new snowfall
accumulation of 3 to 6 inches.

27th-31st...In the West, a large upper-level trough continued to bring
mostly cloudy and wet conditions to the region. Scattered low
elevation rain showers and mountain snow impacted California and the
Pacific Northwest. Snowfall rates were light to moderate, with
locations above 3,000 feet reporting 8 to 12 inches. Further east, a
strong cold front and upper-level low pressure system produced
scattered snow showers across the Great Basin and the northern
Rockies. Snowfall was quite heavy in some locations. Accumulations of
1 to 2 feet where observed in the hardest hit regions. Farther south,
another cold front triggered scattered snow showers over the central
Rockies, while low elevation rain showers and mountain snow affected
the southern Rockies and portions of the Desert Southwest. Rain and
snowfall rates were light to moderate.
Lake Erie surged over its eastern shore Wednesday, adding flooding to
the headaches delivered by a windy storm that tipped tractor-trailers,
disrupted flights, and toppled trees and power lines across a wide
swath of the nation. High winds were suspected of collapsing a
scaffold at a Brooklyn building that killed a construction worker and
seriously injured another Wednesday morning. In northern Ohio, a train
traveling in high winds derailed on a bridge over Sandusky Bay around
4 a.m., sending about 10 freight cars into the water, said Ottawa
County Sheriff Robert Bratton. No injuries were reported. In
Washington state, an avalanche hit a car and forced the closure of the
westbound lane of snowy Interstate 90, the state's main east-west
thoroughfare, at Snoqualmie Pass. No one was injured in the avalanche,
which occurred just hours after the road was reopened following its
longest weather closure since 2002.
The National Weather Service in Buffalo reported sustained winds of 40
to 50 mph, with a peak gust of 68 mph around 10:30 a.m. Across the
state, peaks of 46 mph were reported at LaGuardia Airport and close to
50 mph at Kennedy Airport. Several inches of icy water covered some
roads in Buffalo's Old First Ward neighborhood after Lake Erie
suddenly rose 10 1/2 feet around 6 a.m. and left behind chunks of ice
as it receded through the morning. At least two tractor-trailers blew
over on the New York State Thruway in western New York. Numerous
accidents led the state police to close a 60-mile stretch of the
highway between Buffalo and Rochester just before 2 p.m. A 25-vehicle
pileup on Interstate 81 south of Watertown during whiteout conditions
forced the closure of the southbound lane. The front end of a state
police cruiser was wedged under the back end of one of several big
rigs. A tornado hopscotched through Louisville, KY, on Tuesday night,
tearing the roofs from several buildings and toppling trees and power
lines. Joe Sullivan, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said
there were three tornadoes in the metro area. In Indiana, severe
thunderstorms packing wind gusts of 80 mph killed three people in
mobile homes and a fourth who died in a car crash, authorities said.
In