Ice storm of December 2005

The Ice storm of December 2005 was a damaging winter storm that produced extensive ice damage in a large portion of the Southern United States on December 14 - 16, 2005 while extensive snows were reported across portions of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It led to enormous and widespread power outages and at least 7 deaths.

Background

The storm was triggered by a deep low pressure system formed over the Gulf of Mexico on December 14, which began moving northward. At the same time, cold arctic air from northern Canada penetrated deep into the central United States and lowered the temperatures at the surface while warm air from the Gulf Stream remained at the coast. A second Alberta clipper farther north also added additional energy to the system.

The precipitation remained as rain in the coastal areas, including the large cities from Boston to Washington, D.C.. However, freezing rain was extensive in the inland areas, including around Atlanta, where the temperatures remained just below freezing for extended periods. The freezing rain persisted for many hours, leading to extensive ice damage.

Impact

Trees and power lines, along with numerous other lightweight structures, came down in many areas from Georgia northward, and highways (including several Interstate Highways) were closed and impassable. The heaviest ice accretions were in southwestern North Carolina, where ice over 3/4 inch (20 mm) thick was reportedCite web
url= http://www.erh.noaa.gov/gsp/localdat/cases/15Dec2005IceStorm/15Dec2005.htm
title=Event Summary
publisher=National Weather Service
author=Greenville-Spartanburg office
date=
accessdate=2007-04-16] and Charlottesville, Virginia with 1 inch (25,4 mm)Cite web
url=http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/winter_storm_summaries/2005/storm12/stormsum_11.html
title=Storm summary message
publisher=National Weather Service
author=Hydrometeorological Prediction Center
date=2005-12-16
accessdate=2007-04-16] .

The ice storm left more than 700,000 people without power in and near the Appalachians, including 30,000 customers in Georgia, 358,000 in South Carolina, 328,000 in North Carolina and 13,000 in Virginia. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051216/ap_on_re_us/ice_storm] It took over a week to restore power. Several emergency shelters also were openedCite web
url=http://www.wlos.com/news/news.shtml#story2
title=News Story
publisher=Station WLOS North Carolina
accessdate=2007-04-16] . At the higher elevations, and farther north across the Great Lakes region and into northern New England, the storm produced heavy snow with amounts varying between 7 inches to as high as 26 inches (57 cm).

In Canada, 41 centimetres of snow fell in Montreal in about 12 hours, with snowfall rates as high as 30 centimetres in 4 hours, and 11 centimetres in a one hour period during the morning rush hour on December 16. This is the second worst storm on record, after a storm on March 4, 1971 dumped 47 centimetres and the worst fall snowstorm to hit the area since records were kept.Cite web
url=http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/media/top10/century_f.html#1961-1980
title=Top Weather Events of the 20th Century
publisher=Environment Canada
author=Dave Phillips
series=Meteorological Service of Canada
date=2002-12-18
accessdate=2007-04-16] . [ [http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20071204/CPACTUALITES/71203010/5050/CPPRESSE Un record de neige pulvérisé] ] In Ottawa, between 20 and 35 centimetres fell in a short period of time causing several OC Transpo buses to become stuck on the city's transitway and several of their articulated buses to become jackknifed at a busy intersection in the suburb of Gatineau, Quebec.

In addition, at least seven deaths were blamed on the weather, one of them directly related to weather conditions. One of the deaths was as a result of a tree that fell into a home and crashed into a man in Kannapolis, North Carolina, one as a result of a faulty generator in a house without power, and the other five as a result of traffic accidents. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051216/ap_on_re_us/ice_storm] [http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/13432268.htm]

References

ee also

*North American ice storm of 1998

External links

* [http://www.wlos.com/news/news.shtml WLOS-TV (Asheville) news log]
* [http://www.erh.noaa.gov/gsp/localdat/cases/15Dec2005IceStorm/15Dec2005.htm Event Summary from NWS Greenville-Spartanburg office]
* [http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/html/istorm121505.shtml A Georgia Ice Storm: December 14 - 15, 2005 from the NWS Peachtree, GA office]