NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

FEBRUARY 2008


1st-9th...In the eastern two-thirds of the country, an intense low
pressure system produced major weather impacts. In the middle
Mississippi Valley alone, heavy snowfall, strong winds and low
visibilities have been a major concern. From central Illinois on into
northwestern Indiana, close to a foot of snow was observed. Moving
east, slightly warmer temperatures contributed to snow mixing with
sleet, freezing rain and periods of heavy rainfall over the Ohio
Valley. In the Northeast and middle Atlantic, freezing rain and sleet,
occasionally mixed with rain and snow, caused major problems. Over a
third of an inch of ice accumulated in a large portion of the region,
downing trees and power lines and causing some power outages.
Elsewhere, scattered showers, with an occasional thunderstorm, were
reported across the eastern Mid-Atlantic and the eastern portions of
the Southeast. Rainfall amounts of over an inch impacted these
regions. Farther west, high pressure allowed for calm and dry
conditions across the Plains, upper Mississippi Valley and southern
Mississippi Valley. In the West, a cold front produced scattered low-
elevation rain showers and mountain snow across northern and central
California, the Great Basin and the northern and central Rockies.
Farther north, scattered low-elevation rain showers and mountain snow
also impacted the Pacific Northwest as another storm system began to
move into the region. Precipitation rates have been light to moderate.
Places across the Cascades of Oregon and the northern Rockies have
reported 6 to 12 inches of new snowfall. Farther south, fair and dry
conditions were in place across southern California, the Desert
Southwest and across the southern Rockies.
Storms drew a line down the middle of the nation Tuesday, dumping snow
to the north, spawning damaging tornadoes to the south and dropping
heavy rain on parts of Ohio still recovering from major floods months
ago.
A possible tornado near Memphis, Tenn., damaged a mall and several
other buildings, trapping people inside, said a dispatcher for the
Memphis Police Department. No deaths were reported, and the extent of
injuries was being determined, she said. In Findlay, Ohio, officials
warned business owners they should be ready to move if the Blanchard
River spilled over into downtown Wednesday. The river, rising about 5
inches an hour Tuesday, was predicted to rise to about 3 feet above
flood stage by Wednesday afternoon. If that happens, flooding will
cover many streets and could force evacuations of some neighborhoods,
said Jim Barker, the city's safety director. "One thing in our favor
is that a lot of the people who were flooded in August have not
returned," said Jim Barker, safety director in this city of about
40,000. Police planned to put cruisers at all city fire stations in
case the floodwaters split the city in half, which is what happened in
late August. Neighborhoods were isolated when heavy rains dumped up to
10 inches during a few hours, causing the city's worst flood since
1913. Damage to city-owned buildings and property was estimated to be
as much as $31 million.
The storm stretched across much of the nation's midsection from Texas
to the Great Lakes on a day when voters in many states headed to polls
for Super Tuesday primaries. Despite power failures in some areas,
fears of weather-related low turnout appeared largely unfounded. Two
confirmed tornadoes in addition to the storm that damaged the Hickory
Ridge Mall were reported outside Memphis, emergency officials said.
One knocked out a state highway patrol radio tower. No injuries were
immediately reported. Storms also briefly suspended flights at Memphis
International Airport, the world's busiest cargo airport. In central
Arkansas, a tornado touched down in downtown Atkins, northwest of
Little Rock. Officials were trying to assess damage, state emergency
management officials said. Forecasters in Kentucky warned that the
storms could produce hail, high winds and flooding Tuesday night. "All
the elements are there for severe weather," said National Weather
Service hydrologist Mike Callahan. In southwestern Wisconsin, snow was
expected to total more than a foot and a half in some southern parts
of the state before ending Wednesday afternoon. The snow triggered a
rash of traffic accidents. A woman was killed and four other people
injured when a tractor-trailer, two cars and a pickup collided,
authorities said. Much of Iowa braced for more than a foot of snow.
"Roads in the southeast corner of state are already 100 percent snow-
covered, and they're not going to get any better," said Brad Small, a
National Weather Service forecaster in Des Moines.
A major snowstorm lumbered across the Midwest on Wednesday, forcing
hundreds of schools and businesses to close and grounding more than
1,000 flights as snow piled up nearly 20 inches in some areas.
Blustery winds created near-whiteout conditions in southern Wisconsin,
where slick roads were blamed for two traffic fatalities. Snowplow
operators were called off the roads shortly before noon in Green
County, said highway Commissioner Dallas Cecil. "The winds are blowing
so hard the guys can't see the front of their trucks," he said. As
much as 19.5 inches of snow fell in nearby Orfordville, while the
Milwaukee suburb of West Allis got 14.2 inches. Occasional brief
periods of blizzard-like conditions developed along the Lake Michigan
shoreline from Milwaukee to Kenosha as the snowfall picked up
Wednesday, said meteorologist Rusty Kapela of the National Weather
Service's Sullivan office. Less snow fell in Missouri, with 6 inches
in places, but it was enough to form ice on bridges and highway ramps.
A 12-car pileup near Springfield closed Interstate 44 for about an
hour. "When those things freeze, they all go at the same time," said
Earl Wallace, a spokesman for Missouri's highway department.
Schools and universities canceled classes in parts of Kansas. In Iowa,
Des Moines school officials told nearly 31,000 students to stay home
after 8 inches of snow fell in Polk County. Dozens of northern
Illinois schools closed for the day because of the snow. The storms
also caused Walworth County court officials to cancel proceedings
Wednesday in Mark Jensen's lengthy trial in Elkhorn, Wis. Jensen is
accused of poisoning and suffocating his wife in 1998. All flights
were stopped at General Mitchell International Airport at Milwaukee,
airport spokeswoman Pat Rowe said. In northern Illinois, Chicago's
O'Hare International Airport canceled about 1,000 flights, said Gregg
Cunningham, spokesman for the city's aviation department. Across the
city at Midway Airport, there were 100 cancellations and delays on
remaining flights of about two hours, Cunningham said. In Iowa, the
foot of snow that fell at Oskaloosa came on top of 12 inches that fell
Sunday, making it nearly impossible for people to get around. "It's a
mess. Nobody is out too much and if they are they're getting stuck,"
said Wade Schneckler, 47, of Oskaloosa.
Brad Small, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, called
this winter Iowa's "coldest and snowiest" since 2000-01. The harshness
has led to shortages of road salt in many cities, including Tipton, in
eastern Iowa. Getting more will be difficult because a frozen
Mississippi River has blocked barge traffic. "You just got to roll
with the punches," said Public Works Director Steve Nash. "We've got
enough to last us for two or three weeks, but if this snow thing
continues through March, then we could be in trouble." To the east of
the snow, rain created problems in Indiana and Ohio. Residents of
Findlay, Ohio, watched as water inundated the city only months after
flooding displaced hundreds and caused millions of dollars in damage
in August.
Also on Wednesday, rescue workers across Southern states searched
through the wreckage of homes, churches and shelters Wednesday for
bodies and for those who may have survived a string of tornadoes that
swept across the region Tuesday night, killing at least 50 people. The
death toll could rise as emergency officials continue their search for
the missing and investigate homes and offices -- including a shopping
mall and a college campus -- ravaged by the swarm of twisters. The
National Weather Service received more than 60 tornado reports in a
five-state region, beginning as early as 4 p.m. Tuesday and continuing
through Wednesday morning. There were also dozens of reports of hail.
"We're all still in shock at the devastating effects that this has
had," said Maj. Carl Edison of the Sumner County Sheriff's Office who
confirmed that seven people had died in this small, rural community
northeast of Nashville. "We're still doing search and rescue, looking
for other potential victims." Edison said the twisters struck the town
about 10 p.m. The area had been struck by deadly tornados in April
2006, and thought it was prepared for a similar emergency. "There were
warnings out all day yesterday," he said.
The storms shattered barns, uprooted trees and tore the roof off of
Wynnewood, 19th century inn that had survived the Civil War even
though Union and Confederate armies had marched by its front door on
their way to battles in Hartsville and Gallatin. The post office in
Castalian Springs was a small, brick building with shingle roof.
Inside was a 800-pound steel vault. Wednesday morning, none of the
walls were left standing, and the vault had been blown across Highway
25 and into a field. In Washington, President Bush spoke briefly about
the storms during a visit to the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
saying he had been in touch with the governors of the affected states
to offer assistance and would pray for the victims as well. "Prayers
can help and so can the government," Bush said. " . . . I do want the
people in those states to know that the American people stand with
them." Later, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that Homeland
Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has talked to the governors and
that FEMA officials were dispatched to the region Tuesday night to
begin emergency relief efforts.
The front moved through the region beginning Tuesday afternoon, and
while tornado sirens blasted warnings in many towns, the size and
spread of the storm made it impossible to escape. The storm system
maintained intensity as it pushed northeast and was expected to
produce heavy thunderstorms in the Washington region Wednesday
evening, including high winds gusts and a potential for isolated
tornadoes. The death toll in the South included 26dead in Tennessee,
13 in Arkansas, seven in Kentucky, and four in Alabama, according to
wire services. Tornadoes also damaged property in Mississippi but
there were no reported deaths. In Arkansas, deaths were reported in
Pope, Conway, Izard and Van Buren counties. At least four died in
Atkins, a town of 3,000 in Pope County, among them a family of three,
local police said. Residents said the tornado tore through town at
around 5 p.m., ripping homes, throwing trees, overturning cars and
damaging buildings. Power was out across town. The damage is "massive
and widespread. . . . This storm did not limit itself to one
particular area," Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe (D), told CNN in an
interview Wednesday morning. "There is so much damage we're just doing
a very detailed debris assessment to make sure no one is missing and
no one is injured that we missed when it was dark," Tonya Roberts,
emergency services spokeswoman for Pope County, AR, told CNN. There
were four confirmed deaths in the county. Randy Harris, a spokesman
for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, said the fatalities in
Tennessee were clustered in seven counties around Memphis and in the
north along the Kentucky border. As of Wednesday morning, he said,
some roads remained blocked in Macon County, but the rest of the state
was clear. Across the region, there was evidence of the storm's
ferocity, with cars tossed and twisted from their spots, homes
shredded, and larger buildings collapsed. In Jackson, TN, eight
students were trapped when the storm destroyed a dormitory at Union
University, and 51 students at the school were injured, wire services
reported. According to a map on the Web site of the Nashville
Tennessean newspaper, the storm overturned 60 trucks on Interstate 40.
Near Memphis, a warehouse roof collapsed, killing three. The storm
also ripped one side off of the Hickory Ridge Mall, resulting in minor
injuries. Sumner County Sheriff Bob Barker told CNN that emergency
crews found an 11-month-old infant alive near a road, but the mother
was dead nearby. "It just destroyed everything in its path," Gene
Mitchell, the sheriff in Lawrence County, Alabama, told CNN. Schneider
and Wilgoren reported from Washington. Staff writer Jose Vargas
contributed to this report from Atkins, Ark.

10th-16th...In the East on Tuesday, a mess of wintry weather continued
to bring havoc. This wintry weather was found from the Great Lakes and
Ohio Valley into the New England States and southward into the
interior locales of Virginia and North Carolina. Significant ice
accumulations continue to be reported, with some locations seeing over
a half an inch. Snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches were reported
across southern Michigan, with 2 to 4 amounts across New York. Showers
and thunderstorms brought heavy rain and severe weather to the
southeastern states. Numerous reports of wind damage and tornadoes
were found across the southern Mississippi Valley, with one tornado
report near the east coast of Florida. Rainfall amounts of near 2
inches have been reported as well.
In the central and western portion of the US, scattered snows fell.
Snowfall totals were locally moderate, with up to 5 inches reported in
portions of southern Wisconsin and generally 3 inches across the
northwest. A mix of freezing rain and snow fell across portions of the
Northern Ozarks and Middle Mississippi Valley, complicating an already
bad weather situation. Ice accretions to nearly one-half of an inch
have been reported, causing power outages and travel hazards. South of
the wintry precipitation, showers and thunderstorms roared across the
Southern Ozarks and eastern Texas. Some of these storms produced
strong to severe weather, with hail up to one inch and wind gusts to
65 mph. The Plains, Northern Great Lakes, and western Texas reported
fair conditions through the early afternoon, outside of some isolated
snows in Nebraska.
In the eastern third of the nation, low pressure continued to bring a
mix of weather conditions from the New England states southward into
Florida. A mix of freezing rain, sleet, and snow fell across portions
of New England, western New York, and western Pennsylvania before
changing over to a bit of light snow this evening. Accumulations have
generally been light, with some areas seeing 2 inches. Across northern
Maine accumulations have been heavy, with totals up near a foot in
some locations. Heavy rains fell on the warm side of the system from
southern New England southward through the Carolinas and into Florida.
Rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches were reported in the Mid-Atlantic
states. Thunderstorms were found across southern Florida, with a few
reports of wind damage. Lake effect snow occurred near the Great Lakes
today as well, with minor accumulations reported. In the central and
western portion of the nation, a storm system moved into the Northern
Plains, with moderate to heavy snows and blustery winds. Accumulations
of 8 inches were reported across central North Dakota, along with
bitterly cold temperatures and 25 mph winds creating blizzard like
conditions. Frontal boundary draped across the central Rockies as
well, with more snow in the higher elevations there as well.
Accumulations have been around 4 to 8 inches in the mountains of
Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho. In some of the lower elevations of Utah and
Nevada, rain was reported with minor amounts. Gusty winds have been
reported with this system today as well, with gusts to 30 to 45 mph
common across the Rockies.

17th-23rd...In the East on Monday, a low pressure system continued to
produce scattered snow showers across the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley,
and into western portions of the Mid Atlantic. Snowfall accumulations
of generally 1 to 4 inches have been reported; however, isolated
higher amounts have been reported across Lower Michigan with lake
effect snows bringing up to 6 inches. A mix of rain and snow fell
across southern Indiana, southern Ohio, and northern Kentucky. Along
the coast, scattered rain showers developed in association with a warm
front crossing the Northeast. Rainfall amounts were generally around a
quarter to three quarters of an inch, but a few locations experienced
amounts near 1 inch. In fact, Hyannis, Massachusetts, received 0.99
inches of rainfall so far. Strong gusty winds blew across portions of
New England as well, and gusts of up to 70 miles per hour have been
recorded. Farther south, scattered showers and thunderstorms were
triggered by a cold front across the Mid Atlantic and Southeast. Only
two reports of severe weather were recorded in Florida, with a few
trees knocked down by stronger wind gusts. Rainfall amounts were
moderate to heavy in many locations across the Southeast, with some
places receiving over 2 inches of rain. In fact, Warner Robins,
Georgia, received 3.68 inches of rain and Panama City, Florida,
reported 2.37 inches of rain.
In the East on Wednesday, an upper-level disturbance produced snow
showers across the Great Lakes and the Northeast. Areas east of Lake
Michigan reported heavy snow of over 8 inches in some spots.
Cloverville, Michigan, observed 10.40 inches of snow. Generally
lighter snow amounts of 3 to 5 were reported east of Lake Erie and
Lake Ontario. However, Colden, New York received 8 inches of snow.
Strong gusty winds impacted portions of the middle Atlantic and the
central Appalachians with gusts of up to 40 mph.
Up to a foot of snow fell on Friday interrupted what had been a mild
winter in much of the Northeast and created havoc for travelers,
forcing the cancellation of more than 1,100 flights in the New York
area alone.
Roads were slick throughout the region and there were hundreds of
accidents, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged people to look on the
bright side. Half a foot of snow fell in New York City. Up to a foot
was forecast in suburban counties, and up to 9 inches fell in parts of
Connecticut. Storm warnings extended northward across Massachusetts
and southern New Hampshire. In many places, snow was changing over to
rain, sometimes freezing rain. The storm was not unusual for mid-
February, but it was easily the New York area's most significant storm
of the winter. The expansive system, which had brought everything from
freezing rain to sleet to snow in parts of Kentucky, Missouri and
Illinois on Thursday, lumbered eastward and northward overnight. In
Missouri, where the problem was mostly ice rather than snow, the State
Highway Patrol cited slippery roads as factors in accidents that
killed five people Thursday and early Friday. By mid-afternoon Friday
there were 548 flight cancellations at New York's LaGuardia Airport,
368 at Newark Liberty International Airport and 197 at John F. Kennedy
International Airport, said Steve Coleman, spokesman for the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey. Delays at the three airports
ranged from one to three hours. More than a quarter of the flights at
Philadelphia International Airport were canceled, and delays there
reached up to 4 hours Friday morning, airport spokeswoman Phyllis
VanIstendal said. Many flights also were canceled at Boston's Logan
International Airport, where delays ranged from three to six hours.
The Northeast airports' problems caused residual delays of an hour or
more for flights across the country headed to the region, according to
the Federal Aviation Administration. Low visibility at another major
airport _ Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International _ added to the
slowdown. Some airlines waived their fee for passengers rebooking
tickets. In Philadelphia, Karla Andrews and her group of 40
cheerleaders were told Friday morning that their Southwest Airlines
flight to Orlando was going to be delayed at least until late
afternoon. In all, 110
cheerleaders aged 8 to 18 from the group were delayed on their three
separate flights to Florida. Motorists, too, had problems getting
around. The speed limit along the New Jersey Turnpike was reduced to
35 mph, and jackknifed rigs shut down southbound lanes of Interstate
95 for a couple of hours in Greenwich, Conn. One man in Connecticut
and two others in Ohio were killed in storm-related car crashes. In
New Haven, Conn., the snow forced Yale graduate student Andrew
Goldstone to take cover under an overhang while waiting for a campus
bus. Not that he was complaining.