North American blizzard of 2009

December 2009 North American blizzard

Category 4 "Crippling" (RSI: 12.78)
Satellite image of the nor'easter.
Type	Extratropical cyclone Blizzard Winter storm
Formed	December 16, 2009
Dissipated	December 20, 2009
Lowest pressure	968 millibars (28.6 inHg)
Maximum snowfall or ice accretion	32 inches (81 cm)
Casualties	7 fatalities
Areas affected	East Coast of the United States (from North Carolina to Maine) Canadian Atlantic provinces (portions of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador)
Part of the 2009–10 North American winter storms

The December 2009 North American blizzard was a powerful nor'easter that formed over the Gulf of Mexico in December 2009, and became a major snowstorm that affected the East Coast of the United States and Canadian Atlantic provinces. The snowstorm brought record-breaking December snowfall totals to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

The blizzard disrupted several regions, and in some areas the snowfall rate prevented snow plows from maintaining the roads. The blizzard caused flights and trains to be canceled, and left areas without power. Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and New Castle and Kent counties in Delaware declared a state of emergency. Seven deaths were reported to have been caused by the storm.

On December 16, 2009, meteorologists identified a storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico. It produced record rainfall in regions of Texas and had the potential to strengthen as it moved through Georgia and Florida and further north. Weather models accurately predicted that this storm would meet with cold air while retaining its heavy precipitation. By the afternoon of December 19, the large, low pressure region had moved off the East coast, intensifying and bringing heavy snow to the major Mid-Atlantic cities.Blizzard warnings were issued in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Long Island. As the storm moved northward along the East coast, at one point it measured 500 miles (800 km) across 14 states. The storm produced whiteout conditions and dumped about 16–20 inches (41–51 cm) of snow in major cities along the Eastern seaboard.