December 2009 North American snowstorms

Overview

The 2009 North American snowstorms is an on-going meteorological event in North America. The snowstorms brought record amounts of snow to the Midwest and contributed to deaths of 16 people.^[1] The storm affected a number of US states, including Arizona, Wisconsin and New York, as well as Canada. Although the initial storm had virtually subsided by December 11, further snow was expected to fall.^[2]

Events

Toronto, Canada was hit by both a cold front and 2 extreme cold weather warnings between December 3 and January 1.^[3] A strong arctic front moved through Alberta from the northwest, bringing from 4 inches to 1 foot (10 cm to 30 cm) of snowfall. Winds gusted to 50 mph (80 km/h), causing whiteout and blizzard conditions across most of Alberta. The southern half of the province got the worst of the storm. The winds blew the snow into massive drifts and snowbanks up to 10 feet (3m) in height. Numerous communities in Calgary were completely snowed in for three days, from December 5 to 7. Numerous cars and trucks were abandoned, with many buried up to their roofs in snow.

A weak disturbance that started overnight on December 6 stalled over the western United States and intensified rapidly. Heavy downpours began early in the morning of December 7 and continued nonstop until the evening, triggering flash-flood watches. The storm dropped as much as 4.5 in (110 mm) of rain in Cuyamaca, San Diego, causing blackouts in some locations. This storm was followed by a small semi-tropical winter storm which started overnight on December 10 and then stalled over Southern California and intensified, causing heavy downpours. In addition to 4 inches of rain, this storm gave pea-sized-hail and gusty winds before weakening and moving away from Southern California on December 13. A major snowstorm hit the U.S. east coast during December 10–12, disrupting holiday travel and leaving five dead.^[4]

Heavy snow hit Wisconsin, New York, Washington DC and parts of Maryland on the 10th and 14th. Heavy rain hit parts of Arizona on the 11th.

See also

• Winter storms of 2009–10
• October 2009 North American storm complex
• 2009 North American Christmas winter storm

References

1. ^ "Snow storm moves on but leaves much of US shivering". BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation). 10 December 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8405500.stm. Retrieved 14 December 2009. 
2. ^ "Winter storm exits, but another is brewing". CNN (Central Network News). December 11, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/12/10/winter.weather/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29. Retrieved December 14, 2009. 
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ [2]

External links