January 2008 North American storm complex
The January 2008 North American Superstorm nearing peak intensity, on January 4, 2008
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| Type | Superstorm Coastal storm Winter storm Blizzard Tornado outbreak |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 29, 2007 (2nd storm formed) |
| Dissipated | January 22, 2008 (3rd storm dissipated) |
| Lowest pressure | 956 millibars (28.2 inHg) |
| Tornadoes confirmed | 58 confirmed |
| Max rating1 | EF3 tornado |
| Maximum snowfall or ice accretion |
132 inches of snow at Kirkwood Ski Resort, California |
| Damage | At least $129 million |
| Casualties | At least 16 fatalities; 1 person missing; unknown injuries |
| Areas affected | Eastern Russia, Alaska, Contiguous United States, Canada, Northern Mexico, Iceland, United Kingdom, Northern Europe, Central Russia |
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1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale Part of the 2007–08 North American winter storms |
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132 inches of snow at Kirkwood Ski Resort, California
10 inches of rain in Loma Prieta, California
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
The January 2008 Western North American storm complex was a powerful Pacific extratropical cyclone that affected a large area North America, primarily stretching from western British Columbia to near the Tijuana, Mexico area, starting on January 3, 2008. The system was responsible for flooding rains across many areas in California along with very strong winds locally exceeding hurricane force strength as well as heavy mountain snows across the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain chains as well as those in Idaho, Utah and Colorado. The storms were responsible for the death of at least 12 people across three states, and extensive damage to utility services as well, as damage to some other structures. The storm was also responsible for most of the January 2008 tornado outbreak from January 7–8.
The strong low pressure system responsible for much of the extreme weather (this was actually a series of three storms) traversed much of the Pacific Ocean before the first storm arrived late on January 3. On December 29, 2007, a powerful extratropial disturbance developed over eastern Siberia, which emerged into the northwest Pacific, and moved to the Aleutian Islands as a well-defined low by January 3. On January 2, another extratropical disturbance developed within a well-defined trough of low pressure, in the northeast Pacific Ocean. On January 3, the 1st storm system approached the northern part of the West Coast, powered by a Pineapple Express atmospheric river, resulting in heavy downpours of rain and strong gusts across much of the Western Seaboard. Late on January 3, the 2nd storm system in the Gulf of Alaska split, with the new storm to the south usurping the majority of the moisture of the 2nd system. On January 4, as the 1st storm system weakened, and the southern part of the storm split off into another storm, which began moving eastward across the Southern United States. Later on the same day, as the first storm began moving ashore in British Columbia, the 3rd (and the most powerful) storm brought the largest bands of snow and rain, which impacted the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to northern Mexico, by January 5. Heavy downpours of rain, heavy snow, and fierce winds lashed the West Coast. Meanwhile, the 2nd storm system, slowly moved eastward along the southern coast of Alaska, before stalling in the Gulf of Alaska on January 5. From January 4 and 5, general rainfall from the superstorm in the West Coast was around 2 inches (51 mm) of rain in Oregon and Utah, while nearly 4 inches (100 mm) fell over parts of Nevada and as much as 10 inches (250 mm) in parts of California. Snowfall amounts for those two days reached as much as 70 inches (1,800 mm) in Blackcap Basin, California, while many mountain regions of California, Nevada and Idaho received between 1 and 5 feet (1.5 m) of snow. By this time, the 3rd storm's explosive intensification had transformed the system into a massive superstorm, becoming the dominant system in the Western US. Widespread hurricane-force wind gusts were reported across most western states with winds reaching speeds of 100 mph (160 km/h) or more. The highest reported wind gusts were 165 mph (260 km/h) in Tahoe City, California. Waves were reported as high as 37.7 feet (11.5 m) offshore Washington State. Early on January 5, the superstorm reached a minimum low pressure of 956 millibars (28.2 inHg) - the pressure equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane, becoming the most powerful storm on record to affected the West Coast, in terms of low pressure. Later on the same day, the 3rd storm began to interact with the 1st storm, which was situated over northwestern Canada, weakening that system. Also, the superstorm slowly began to weaken, and it developed a secondary low to the north of Montana, as the system gradually began to split. Late on January 6, the superstorm's secondary low became the dominant low in the system, as the storm system's circulation began to break down. On January 6, the superstorm's original low pressure center was absorbed into the 2nd storm, located just south of Alaska, while the main bulk of the storm system continued moving eastward, across Western Canada. However, the western chunk of the storm complex's moisture continued to dump rain and snow across the Western US. On the afternoon of January 6, Kirkwood Ski Resort reported 10 feet (3.0 m) of snow in 48 hours with a storm total of 11 feet.
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