The snowstorm of December 5 to 6, 2009

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

368

Deaths

8

Injuries

21

Damage

$4.4 million

Episodes

48

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.

• Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, December 3 to 7, 2009$1.1 million · 100 kt wind · 7 eventsTwo powerful north Pacific storms moved across the eastern Aleutians beginning December 4th continuing through December 7th.
• Winter Storm in Michigan, December 3 to 4, 20094 eventsThe first snowstorm of the 2009-2010 winter season swept into Southwest Lower Michigan on Thursday evening, December the third and persisted into Friday morning. Several inches of slushy snow accumulated on roads from Muskegon to Grand Rapids.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Texas, December 3 to 4, 20093 injured · 24 eventsA cold airmass encompassed southeast New Mexico and west Texas on 12/03/09. A shortwave trough translated eastward over the region on the night of the 3rd and resulted in 1 to 3 inches of snow across the region.
• Cold in Illinois, December 3 to 4, 20091 death · 1 eventA 51 year old man died on Ashland Avenue in Chicago due to cold exposure with temperatures in the lower to middle 20s.
• Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, December 3 to 5, 20094 eventsCold west to southwest winds blowing across Lake Michigan produced locally heavy lake effect snow in far Northern Lower Michigan, and a small part of far Eastern Upper Michigan. Ellsworth and Charlevoix picked up 6 to 8 inches of snow in the early morning hours of the 4th.
• Heavy Snow in Texas, December 3 to 4, 20091 eventA positively tilted upper trough extending from the northern Great Lakes into southeast Arizona on 12/3 moved through far west Texas early on 12/4 and brought heavy snow to Hudspeth County.
• Blizzard in Alaska, December 3 to 4, 20091 eventAn intense north Pacific storm moved into the central Bering Sea overnight December 3rd. This storm produced high wind across the Aleutians and Alaska Peninsula to the Pribilof Islands as well as snow and blizzard conditions in the Pribilof Islands.
• Winter Storm in Texas, December 4, 20095 eventsModerate, to locally heavy, snow fell across portions of southeast Texas. This resulted in the region's earliest recorded snow fall. Preceding this event, a strong upper level storm system moved across Texas.
• Winter Weather in Texas, December 4, 20091 eventA very cold, post frontal airmass was in place across South Texas on December 4th through a sufficient depth of the atmosphere to produce wintery precipitation.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Louisiana, December 4, 200915 eventsA powerful and deep upper level trough of low pressure moved quickly across Texas and Louisiana on Friday, December 4, 2009. At the same time, a strong area of surface low pressure developed in the western Gulf of Mexico.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Texas, December 4 to 5, 20096 eventsA powerful and deep upper level trough of low pressure moved quickly across Texas and Louisiana on Friday, December 4, 2009. At the same time, a strong area of surface low pressure developed in the western Gulf of Mexico.
• Winter Storm in Montana, December 4 to 6, 200911 eventsPacific moisture and post-frontal cold arctic air combibed to produce winter weather over a broad portion of North central Montana. Snow accumulations in excess of 8 inches were common. In addition to the snow, very cold wind chill readings were also reported.
• Heavy Snow in Louisiana, December 4, 20092 eventsOn Friday December 4th, and for the second year in a row, an early December snow storm struck southern portions of the ArkLaMiss. This occurred as a strong upper level disturbance helped to induce a low pressure system over the northwest Gulf of Mexico.
• Winter Storm in Louisiana, December 4 to 5, 200910 eventsRain changed to snow across sections of southeast Louisiana to the north and northwest of Lake Pontchartrain as cold air worked its way into the region as an area of low pressure moved east across the northern Gulf of Mexico and a strong upper level disturbance moved across the…
• Winter Storm in Mississippi, December 4 to 5, 20095 eventsRain changed to snow across sections of southwest and south Mississippi as cold air worked its way into the region as an area of low pressure moved east across the northern Gulf of Mexico and a strong upper level disturbance moved across the Gulf Coast states.
• Blizzard in Alaska, December 4 to 5, 20091 eventA 952 mb low in the southern Bering Sea combined with a 1060 mb high across the Yukon to produce strong winds and blizzard conditions at Gambell from the late afternoon hours on the 4th through the early morning hours on the 5th.
• Heavy Snow in Mississippi, December 4 to 5, 200916 eventsOn Friday December 4th, and for the second year in a row, an early December snow storm struck southern portions of the ArkLaMiss. This occurred as a strong upper level disturbance helped to induce a low pressure system over the northwest Gulf of Mexico.
• Winter Weather in Alabama, December 4 to 5, 20097 eventsAn area of high pressure brought near or below freezing temperatures to many locations east of interstate 65 in northern Alabama and southern middle Tennessee after midnight on the 4th.
• Winter Weather in Tennessee, December 5, 20094 injured · 16 eventsA deep upper level trough developed across the central U.S. allowing moisture from the deep south and Gulf of Mexico to move across Middle Tennessee.
• Winter Weather in Georgia, December 5, 20092 eventsA deep, broad upper trough covered much of the U.S. at this time. The center of the upper trough across the northeast was supressed unusually far south. A cold air mass prevailed across much of the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. with below normal temperatures.
• Winter Weather in Tennessee, December 5, 20094 injured · 2 eventsAn area of high pressure brought near or below freezing temperatures to many locations east of interstate 65 in southern middle Tennessee after midnight on the 4th.
• Heavy Snow in West Virginia, December 5, 20094 eventsA fairly weak area of low pressure developed along the Gulf coast and moved to the Carolina coast by early on December 5 bringing moderate snow to mainly higher elevations of southeast West Virginia.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Kentucky, December 5, 200934 eventsAn area of low pressure moving up the east coast on December 5th brought subfreezing air and widespread light snowfall to eastern Kentucky.
• Heavy Snow in West Virginia, December 5, 20094 eventsThe first significant snow storm of the winter resulted in a 4 to 8 inch accumulation. Due to the warm ground, most roads were only slushy during the event. The snow did collect on wires, resulting in a few electric power outages.
• Heavy Snow in Virginia, December 5, 20093 eventsA fairly weak area of low pressure developed along the Gulf coast and moved to the Carolina coast by early on December 5, bringing moderate snow to several mountain counties. Snow amounts ranged generally from 3 to 6 inches and mainly affected higher elevations.
• Heavy Snow in West Virginia, December 5, 20092 eventsAn area of low pressure moving off the Carolina coast produced heavy snow in the ridges of northern West Virginia and Garrett county Maryland with storm totals from 6 to 8 inches in 12 hours.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, December 5, 200918 eventsLow pressure tracked through the Tennessee Valley and emerged off the Mid-Atlantic coast on the 5th. This system spread precipitation across northern and central Virginia.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Maryland, December 5, 200914 eventsLow pressure tracked through the Tennessee Valley and emerged off the Mid-Atlantic coast on the 5th. This system spread precipitation across Maryland. There was enough cold air drawn in from the north for precipitation to fall in the form of snow across most areas.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in West Virginia, December 5, 200910 eventsLow pressure tracked through the Tennessee Valley and emerged off the Mid-Atlantic coast on the 5th. This system spread precipitation across eastern West Virginia. There was enough cold air drawn in from the north for precipitation to fall in the form of snow across most areas.
• Heavy Snow in Maryland, December 5, 20091 eventAn area of low pressure moving off the Carolina coast produced heavy snow in the ridges of northern West Virginia and Garrett county Maryland with storm totals from 6 to 8 inches in 12 hours.
• Winter Weather in Maryland, December 5, 20091 eventThe first measurable snow of the winter season accumulated 1 to 3 inches across Cecil County. Most of the accumulations occurred on non-paved surfaces, bridges and overpasses. Precipitation started as rain around 6 a.m. EST on the 5th.
• Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, December 5, 20098 eventsThe first measurable snow of the winter season accumulated 2 to 5 inches across most of Eastern Pennsylvania. Some locally higher amounts occurred in the higher terrain including the Poconos while only an inch or less accumulated in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties.
• Winter Weather in Delaware, December 5, 20091 eventThe first measurable snow of the winter season accumulated 1 to 2 inches across New Castle County. Most of the accumulations occurred on non-paved surfaces, bridges and overpasses. Precipitation started as rain around 6 a.m. EST on the 5th.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in New Jersey, December 5, 20098 eventsThe first measurable snow of the winter season accumulated 2 to 5 inches across most of central and northern New Jersey. Some higher amounts occurred in the higher terrain especially in Sussex County.
• Winter Storm in Maine, December 5 to 6, 20094 eventsAn area of low pressure developed off the Carolina coast on the morning of the 5th and moved northeast to south of Nova Scotia by the morning of the 6th. The low brought 4 to 8 inches of snow to coastal and interior areas.
• Heavy Snow in Maine, December 5 to 6, 20093 eventsLow pressure tracking just south of the Gulf of Maine brought heavy snow to portions of Downeast Maine. The snow began during the evening of the 5th and continued into the morning of the 6th.
• Winter Weather in Kentucky, December 5, 20091 death · $15,000 · 1 eventLight snow fell across the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. Snowfall accumulations totaled less than one half of an inch. However, slick roads contributed to an automobile accident that caused one fatality.
• Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, December 5 to 6, 20092 eventsLight west winds produced disorganized but locally heavy lake effect snow just downwind of Lake Michigan. Pellston and Indian River picked up 7 to 9 inches of snow.
• Heavy Snow in Oregon, December 6, 20091 eventAn outbreak of arctic air brought northeast upslope flow to western Deschutes County which produced heavy snowfall.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in California, December 6 to 7, 20091 death · 1 injured · 5 eventsA cold storm system dropped southward over interior Northern California, bringing heavy snow to the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains and locally significant accumulations down onto the Central Valley floor.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Kansas, December 6 to 8, 20091 death · 9 injured · $580,000 · 16 eventsA two pronged winter storm moved across the region during the period of December 6th through December the 8th, 2009.
• Blizzard and Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 6 to 8, 20092 deaths · $536,000 · 67 kt wind · 38 eventsA potent storm system brought heavy snow and high winds across the state. Snowfall started on December 6th across the San Juan Mountains.
• Winter Storm and High Wind in California, December 6 to 9, 2009$1.0 million · 70 kt wind · 16 eventsA strong area of low pressure brought a wide swatch of precipitation into the Central California Interior. The precipitation arrived during the early morning hours of December 7th.
• Winter Storm in Utah, December 7 to 8, 200910 eventsA cold winter storm moved through Utah, bringing snow to much of the state. The heaviest snowfall occurred across southern and central Utah, with lighter amounts in the far northern parts of the state.
• Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, December 7, 20092 eventsA weak low pressure system tracking northeast from Iowa moved across Lake Michigan on Monday December 7th, producing a localized lake enhanced band of snow which impacted northern parts of Muskegon and southern parts of Oceana counties.
• Winter Weather in New York, December 7, 20091 death · $7,000 · 1 eventResidual water puddles from heavy rain that occurred on Saturday the 5th resulted in slick roads as the puddles froze and frost developed on area roadways. This resulted in a thin layer of ice.
• Winter Weather in Texas, December 7, 20091 death · 10 eventsFreezing drizzle developed as warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico was flowed over the shallow Arctic Airmass that had invaded West Central Texas. The freezing drizzle impacted an area along and north of a line from Sterling City to Coleman and Cross Plains.
• Blizzard and Winter Storm in Arizona, December 7 to 8, 2009$1.2 million · 65 kt wind · 10 eventsAn intense winter storm passed through Arizona during the evening hours of December 7th and during the early morning hours of December 8th.

The snowstorm of November 27 to 29, 2009The snowstorm of December 7 to 11, 2009Snow nowEvery winter storm filed

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