The snowstorm of December 22 to 25, 1999

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.

Events

145

Deaths

1

Injuries

0

Damage

$1.4 million

Episodes

28

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.

• Heavy Snow in Wyoming, December 20 to 22, 19992 eventsStrong upslope from moisture rotating around two low pressure systems which dropped slowly southeast through eastern Montana and western South Dakota produced heavy snows in Sheridan County. Sheridan received 6 inches of new snow on the night of the 20th.
• Heavy Snow and High Wind in Alaska, December 21 to 22, 1999$275,000 · 130 kt wind · 5 eventsStrong southeasterly winds blew across the Gulf of Alaska Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of a moderate front. While wind gusts were generally 40 to 60 mph ahead of the front, reports of stronger winds were received.
• Ice Storm in Alabama, December 21, 199916 eventsA light mixture of rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow flurries fell across northern Alabama. Numerous trees across the area picked up a coating of ice, but it melted away by late morning. No significant accumulations were reported.
• Winter Storm in Michigan, December 21 to 24, 19994 eventsLake effect snow began after passage of a cold front early in the day on Tuesday, December 21st. Light snow developed across all of western lower Michigan during the evening hours of the 21st, and became heavier on the 22nd, after a trough of low pressure moved through.
• Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 22 to 24, 19997 eventsArctic air moved across the Great Lakes to produce a prolonged period of lake effect snow across portions of eastern upper and northwest lower Michigan. A band of snow established itself over southern Emmet and Cheboygan counties during the afternoon on the 22nd.
• Heavy Snow in New York, December 22 to 24, 1999$85,000 · 7 eventsThe season's first lengthy lake effect episode began late on the 21st following a cold front. Off Lake Erie, snow fell at the rate of two inches per hour at the peak of the storm. The band drifted from the ski country to the southern suburbs of Buffalo.
• Heavy Snow in Ohio, December 23 to 24, 1999$575,000 · 4 eventsCold northwest winds blowing across Lake Erie resulted in the development of lake effect snow bands just before sunrise on the 23rd. Heavy snow first fell near the lakeshore in Lake and Ashtabula Counties.
• Winter Weather in New York, December 23, 1999$1,000 · 1 eventLake effect snow across southern St Lawrence county resulted in 3 inches at Wanakena, New York.
• Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 23 to 24, 1999$450,000 · 3 eventsCold northwest winds blowing across Lake Erie resulted in the development of lake effect snow bands around noon on the 23rd. Heavy snow first fell along the Lake Erie lakeshore, but spread over southern Erie County and all of Crawford County by early on the 24th.
• Winter Storm in Iowa, December 23, 199913 eventsow pressure over Southern Minnesota dropped southeast and brought widespread light to moderate snow to much of Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois. Accumulations of 2 to 4 inches occurred north of Highway 34 with 1 to 3 inches to the south.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, December 23, 199913 eventsLow pressure over Southern Minnesota dropped southeast and brought widespread light to moderate snow to much of Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois.
• Heavy Snow in Kentucky, December 24, 19996 eventsA fast moving area of low pressure dropped 4 to 6 inches of snow across parts of North Central Kentucky during the morning hours of December 24th.
• Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 24, 19991 eventA narrow band of lake effect snow dropped 6 inches of snow across the northwest corner of Warren County. Most other areas of the county had from 1 to 4 inches.
• Winter Weather in North Carolina, December 24, 199920 eventsLow pressure moving east-southeast across Tennessee and North Carolina produced light snow from just after sunrise through much of the afternoon. The only significant accumulations were in the high mountains north and west of Asheville, where 1 to 3 inches of snow fell.
• Heavy Snow in North Carolina, December 24, 19992 eventsNorthwest upslope flow in the wake of the same low pressure system responsible for bringing 1 to 3 inches of snow to much of the mountains of North Carolina, helped enhance snowfall amounts slightly in Avery and Mitchell counties.
• Heavy Snow in Kentucky, December 24, 19998 eventsSnowfall of 2 to 5 inches occurred across southeast Kentucky. The greatest snowfall occurred in a band from Rockcastle and Jackson counties thru Owsley, Clay, Perry, Leslie, Harlan and Letcher counties.
• Winter Weather in Virginia, December 24, 19992 eventsAn upper level disturbance moved across Central Virginia on Christmas Eve morning. This system produced a period of light now between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM. Augusta County, in addition to Staunton and Waynesboro, received less than an inch of accumulation.
• Heavy Snow and High Wind in New Mexico, December 24 to 25, 19992 eventsSustained Wind
• Heavy Snow and High Wind in Texas, December 24 to 25, 19992 eventsSustained wind
• Cold in Alaska, December 24 to 25, 19993 eventsBuilding high pressure over interior Alaska with a cold airmass over the Brooks Range and North Slope created a period of extreme windchills on the north and south slopes of the Brooks Range, inferred from observations at Anaktuvuk Pass, where the lowest windchill value was -80.
• Blizzard and Winter Storm in Alaska, December 25 to 27, 19991 death · $2,000 · 78 kt wind · 10 eventsBlizzard conditions were reported across much of the southwest Alaskan coast, Bristol Bay, the eastern Aleutians and Pribilofs Sunday. Wind gusts reached close to 50 mph in places, with local wind chills to 70 below calculated in the southwest interior.
• Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 24 to 25, 19992 eventsAn upper level low which had remained stalled over northern Mexico for nearly 36 hours moved slowly northward producing heavy snow of 7 to 12 inches across the Sacramento Mountains and adjacent highlands of south central New Mexico late on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.
• Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 25, 19991 eventA winter storm dumped 14 to 16 inches of snow on the southern Sacramento mountains of south central New Mexico. A white Christmas was quite welcome during the area's second consecutive dry winter .
• Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 26, 19993 eventsArctic air moving over the Great Lakes produced lake effect snow over portions of northwest lower Michigan. The heaviest snow fell in a band producing 6 to 7 inches of snow.
• Winter Storm in West Virginia, December 26 to 27, 19992 eventsStrong, persistent northwest winds behind a cold front produced orographically enhanced snows to the higher elevations of Preston and Tucker Counties.
• Winter Storm in Pennsylvania, December 26 to 27, 19991 eventStrong, persistent northwest winds behind a cold front produced orographically enhanced snows across the higher elevations of Fayette County.
• Winter Storm in Maryland, December 26 to 27, 19991 eventStrong, persistent northwest winds behind a cold front produced orographically enhanced snows to the higher elevations of Garrett County.
• Heavy Snow in New York, December 26 to 27, 19994 eventsAn arctic air mass in the wake of a strong cold front brought locally heavy lake effect snow to Oneida, Onondaga and Madison counties. Specific snowfall reports included: Baldinsville 12"; Clay 9"; Morrisville 8.4"; Cazenovia 7"; and Boonville 8".

The snowstorm of December 18 to 20, 1999The snowstorm of December 27 to 30, 1999Snow nowEvery winter storm filed

NOAA NCEI Regional Snowfall Index, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.