Pre-Christmas 2004 snowstorm
| Category 4 "Crippling" (RSI: 11.31) | |
An infrared satellite image of the storm during its most significant impact, taken just after midnight on December 23, 2004
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| Type |
Winter storm Ice storm |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 21, 2004 |
| Dissipated | December 24, 2004 |
| Lowest pressure | 984 mbar (hPa) |
| Maximum snowfall or ice accretion | 59 inches (73.7 cm) |
| Damage | $900 million |
| Total fatalities | 18 in all; 1 from Canada |
| Areas affected | South Central United States, Ohio Valley, Eastern Canada |
An historic snowstorm struck the Ohio Valley of the United States, as well as Ontario in Canada, on December 22 and December 23 and is not the same storm that led to snow in Texas on Christmas Eve. It lasted roughly 30 hours, and brought snowfall amounts up to 37 inches (73.7 cm) to portions of the Midwestern United States. Damages from the storm totaled US$900 million (2004 dollars). A total of 18 died during the storm, one from Canada, mainly due to car accidents.
An arctic cold front moved through the Midwest, bringing cold air into the region and a brief 4-10 hour burst of snowfall on December 22. Thereafter, 3–6 hours of freezing rain and sleet fell. The second bout of wintry precipitation, which lasted about 13 hours, was caused by a surface cyclone in the southern stream of the Westerlies which moved northeast from the coastal bend of Texas early on December 22, moving across northern Louisiana, southeast Arkansas, northwest Mississippi, then across central Tennessee, through western West Virginia early on December 23, eastern Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Over 20 inches (51 cm) of snow fell across portions of southern Illinois and central Ohio. A band of freezing rain and sleet led to ice and sleet accumulations across western Tennessee, central Kentucky, as well as southern and eastern Ohio. Traffic was paralyzed across the region by plane, train, and automobile, during this winter storm. Interstate and state highways turned into parking lots as over 100,000 vehicle accidents were caused by the weather. Roofs of buildings caved in under the weight of the ice and snow, especially in areas which measured over 10 inches of snow. Almost a million residences saw power outages and numerous phone lines were downed. Four days of sub-freezing temperatures during and after the storm hampered recovery efforts. States of emergency were declared in Kentucky, Illinois, and Ohio.
High winds and icing were the main impact in Arkansas. About 11,000 customers lost power for 2–3 days. Six perished during the storm statewide.
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Wikipedia