The snowstorm of April 17 to 19, 2009
A snowstorm NOAA ranked in 1 region on its Regional Snowfall Index, strongest in the Northern Rockies and Plains.
What the offices filed during it
Winter weather episodes east of the Rockies from the day before the storm began to the day after it ended, colored by kind.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The storm by region
Each region’s thresholds are its own, so the same depth of snow counts for more in the South than in the Northeast.
| Region | Index | Category | Area with snow (sq mi) | People under snow | Above the top threshold (sq mi) | People above it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Rockies and Plains | 0.57 | Below category 1 | 126,602 | 792,582 | 57 | 177 |
The Regional Snowfall Index is NOAA’s ranking of snowstorms east of the Rockies by how much snow fell, over how wide an area and on how many people, region by region: the area and the population above four snowfall thresholds set for each region, weighted against that region’s own history. A storm is scored in each region it reached, on a scale from 1, notable, to 5, extreme.
The toll the offices filed
- Events
- 27
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Damage
- None recorded
- Episodes
- 7
Every winter weather episode the Weather Service filed east of the Rockies in these dates. A few may belong to another system on the same days. Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
Episode by episode
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, April 16 to 18, 2009A moist low pressure system over eastern Colorado produced heavy snow over southeast Wyoming, generally at elevations above 5500 feet.
- Winter Storm in Colorado, April 16 to 18, 2009A very moist spring storm produced heavy snow over part of the Urban Corridor and a prolonged period of light to moderate rain over the rest of the area. The snow level hovered around 5500 feet for most of the event.
- Heavy Snow in New Mexico, April 16 to 17, 2009A slow moving upper level low inched eastward across northern New Mexico between the 16th and the 18th of April. By early morning on the 17th, portions of the Northern Mountains and Northeast Highlands had already received a couple inches of snow.
- Lake-Effect Snow in Minnesota, April 19 to 21, 2009A low pressure area combined with easterly winds off Lake Superior caused heavy snow to fall across the tip of the Arrowhead of Minnesota. Up to 10 inches of snow fell across the upper Gunflint Trail. Six inches of snow fell at Devil's Track Lake near the Cook County Airport.
- Lake-Effect Snow in Wisconsin, April 19 to 21, 2009A low pressure area combined with northwest winds off Lake Superior brought heavy late season lake effect snow to the Gogebic Range of northwest Wisconsin. The heaviest of the snow fell during the overnight hours of April 20.
- Winter Storm in Michigan, April 19 to 21, 2009A storm system lifting north from the Ohio Valley into Lower Michigan dumped wet heavy snow over portions of west and central Upper Michigan from the 19th into the evening of the 21st.
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, April 19 to 21, 2009A major spring storm system, that slowly passed through the region, dropped more than a foot of snow in some locations across far northern Wisconsin. Temperatures near freezing brought snow that easily stuck to trees and power lines.
More
The snowstorm of April 4 to 7, 2009The snowstorm of October 3 to 6, 2009Snow nowEvery winter storm filed
Sources
NOAA NCEI Regional Snowfall Index, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.