The snowstorm of February 10 to 13, 2013

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

353

Deaths

3

Injuries

0

Damage

$20,000

Episodes

42

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 Winter Storm in Maine, February 8 to 9, 201311 eventsRapidly intensifying low pressure tracked from the mid Atlantic region toward Nova Scotia from the afternoon of the 8th into the 9th. The storm produced blizzard conditions across Downeast areas from the evening of the 8th into the evening of the 9th.
• Cold in Illinois, February 9, 20131 death · 1 eventTemperatures around 20 contributed to the death of a man in his 60's.
• Heavy Snow and High Wind in New Mexico, February 9 to 12, 201360 kt wind · 17 eventsA strong upper level trough along with a surface cold front combined to create high winds across much of New Mexico. As the Pacific storm system moved into portions of northwest New Mexico, winds increased across central and eastern areas.
• Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, February 9 to 10, 201366 kt wind · 4 eventsA low analyzed at 962 mb and over 500 miles south of the Alaska Peninsula the afternoon of February 8th moved northward and over the Alaska Peninsula at 969 MB by the afternoon on February 9th.
• Blizzard in Alaska, February 9, 20131 eventA strong occluded front associated with a mid-970s mb low approached the Western Aleutian Islands from the south. This set up strong winds and snow across the Western Aleutian Islands which resulted in a blizzard warning for that area.
• Heavy Snow in Montana, February 9 to 10, 20139 eventsSnowfall over Central Montana was mostly advisory level but also had a few locations with warning criteria. Impacts from the event included numerous vehicles sliding off roads throughout the area.
• Blizzard in Nebraska, February 9 to 10, 20132 eventsAn intense low pressure system tracked across Colorado into Nebraska. Occasional moderate to heavy snow developed over the western Nebraska Panhandle, with gusty northerly winds of 35 to 45 mph.
• Winter Storm in Minnesota, February 9 to 10, 201325 eventsA large storm system brought a combination of heavy sleet, freezing rain and snow to south central and east central Minnesota Sunday morning, February 10th, with heavy snowfall across central and west central Minnesota where up to 14 inches fell near Millerville.
• Blizzard in Nebraska, February 9 to 11, 201320 eventsA winter storm tracked from the southern Rockies into the the Central Plains. Strong northerly winds of 30 to 40 mph and gusty winds created blizzard conditions across much of western and north central Nebraska on February 9-10 2013.
• Blizzard and Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 9 to 11, 201312 eventsA strong storm system developed across the Central Rockies and moved across the Central Plains. The track of the storm brought the heaviest snow across southern South Dakota. North to northwest wind gusts to 50 mph also developed as the system passed to the south.
• Heavy Snow in Minnesota, February 10 to 11, 201314 eventsA low pressure system moved northeast across Iowa and northern Wisconsin. Snow began to spread across northeastern Minnesota early in the morning of the 10th and covered the entire region by the afternoon.
• Winter Storm in Wisconsin, February 10 to 11, 20135 eventsA low pressure system moved northeast across Iowa and northern Wisconsin. Snow and freezing rain began to spread across northwestern Wisconsin early in the morning of the 10th and covered the entire region by the early afternoon.
• Winter Storm in Wisconsin, February 10, 20131 eventA large storm system brought a combination of heavy sleet, freezing rain and snow to south central and east central Minnesota, as well as portions of west central Wisconsin, Sunday morning, February 10th.
• Winter Storm in Minnesota, February 10 to 11, 201316 eventsA moisture laden Colorado Low tracked from central Nebraska on the morning of the 10th to central Lake Superior by the morning of the 11th. Ahead of the system there was some light freezing rain and fog early as temperatures were quite mild.
• Blizzard in Minnesota, February 10 to 11, 20136 eventsA moisture laden Colorado Low tracked from central Nebraska on the morning of the 10th to central Lake Superior by the morning of the 11th. Ahead of the system there was some light freezing rain and fog early as temperatures were quite mild.
• Blizzard in North Dakota, February 10 to 11, 20135 eventsA moisture laden Colorado Low tracked from central Nebraska on the morning of the 10th to central Lake Superior by the morning of the 11th. Ahead of the system there was some light freezing rain and fog early as temperatures were quite mild.
• Winter Storm in North Dakota, February 10 to 11, 20134 eventsA moisture laden Colorado Low tracked from central Nebraska on the morning of the 10th to central Lake Superior by the morning of the 11th. Ahead of the system there was some light freezing rain and fog early as temperatures were quite mild.
• Blizzard in South Dakota, February 10 to 11, 20131 death · 24 eventsA very strong low pressure area moving across the region brought widespread heavy snow of 6 to as much as 19 inches. Along with the heavy snow came very strong winds of 30 to 50 mph causing widespread blowing and drifting snow.
• Winter Weather in Wisconsin, February 10, 20131 death · $20,000 · 1 eventOne person was killed in a two vehicle accident on icy roads in western Wisconsin.
• Blizzard and Winter Weather in South Dakota, February 10 to 11, 201322 eventsVariable snowfall of 2 to 8 inches, northwest winds gusting to 45 mph, and snow cover existing before the storm in part of the area, produced blizzard conditions with visibilities below a quarter mile in blowing snow in many areas.
• Blizzard in North Dakota, February 10 to 11, 20135 eventsLow pressure lifting northeast across the central U.S. brought heavy snow to the James River Basin in southeast North Dakota on the 10th.
• Winter Weather in Michigan, February 10 to 11, 20136 eventsA low pressure system moved from the Central Plains into the Great Lakes region bringing a widespread heavy wet snow to western and north central Upper Michigan on 2/10. Freezing rain was also reported during the event.
• Blizzard in Minnesota, February 10 to 11, 20138 eventsVariable snowfall of 2 to 5 inches, northwest winds gusting to 45 mph, and snow cover existing before the storm in part of the area, produced blizzard conditions with visibilities below a quarter mile in blowing snow in many areas.
• Blizzard in Minnesota, February 10 to 11, 20132 eventsA very strong low pressure area moving across the region brought widespread heavy snow of 12 to 17 inches to west central Minnesota. Along with the heavy snow came strong winds of 25 to 40 mph causing widespread blowing and drifting snow.
• Blizzard in Minnesota, February 10 to 11, 201310 eventsA large storm system dumped 6 to 12 inches of snow across a wide area of west central and portions of southwest Minnesota, with local amounts up to 14 inches near Alexandria and Morris on Sunday, February 10th.
• Blizzard in Alaska, February 10 to 11, 20131 eventStrong high pressure over Russia and low pressure over the Seward Peninsula produced blizzard conditions along the Bering Strait during the evening hours of the 10th|through the early morning hours of the 11th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less.
• Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, February 11, 20139 eventsAn approaching warm front generated a wintry mix of mostly sleet and freezing rain across the Poconos and colder sections of Berks County, the Lehigh Valley and the far northwest Philadelphia suburbs.
• Winter Weather in New Jersey, February 11, 20135 eventsAn approaching warm front generated a wintry mix of mostly sleet and freezing rain across northwest New Jersey during the first half of the day on the 11th. Ice accretions averaged around one tenth of an inch and untreated roadways and walkways were extremely hazardous.
• Heavy Snow in New Mexico, February 11 to 12, 20131 eventA secondary upper level low pressure system followed quickly behind the initial storm system on February 9 and 10th continuing snowfall over much of New Mexico.
• Winter Storm in Texas, February 12, 201318 eventsDuring the late night hours of the 11th and early morning hours of the 12th, an upper level trough of low pressure moved out of southern New Mexico and into west central Texas.
• Winter Weather in Oklahoma, February 12, 20136 eventsDuring the late night hours of the 11th and early morning hours of the 12th, an upper level trough of low pressure moved out of southern New Mexico and into west central Texas.
• Winter Weather in Texas, February 12, 20135 eventsA potent upper level low moved across southern New Mexico during the evening hours of February 20th. This system would go on to produce several inches of snow with a maximum of 12 inches in Texas County after making a transition from rain and sleet to all snow.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Oklahoma, February 12, 201324 eventsA strong upper level storm system moved across western and central Oklahoma overnight on the 11th into the morning hours of the 12th. As cold air moved in behind the system, moderate to heavy snow fell, especially across west central Oklahoma, where up to 9 inches of snow fell.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Texas, February 12, 20139 eventsShortly after midnight on the 12th, the base of an upper-level trough exited southern New Mexico before bisecting the South Plains during the day as it moved eastward.
• Winter Weather in Arkansas, February 12 to 13, 20133 eventsAn area of low pressure aloft moved across northern Arkansas on the evening of the 12th and early on the morning of the 13th. Light snow occurred in parts of northern Arkansas.
• Winter Weather in West Virginia, February 13, 20131 eventA short wave trough moved over the Mid Atlantic as low pressure continued to intensify east of the region. Cold air advection and westerly flow led to enhancements of snowfall in the up slope regions of the Allegheny Front including Pendleton County.
• Heavy Snow in South Dakota, February 13 to 14, 20131 eventUpslope-enhanced snow developed over the northern Black Hills after a cold front passage. Four to eight inches of snow fell across the higher elevations of the Black Hills with ten inches of snow reported near O'Neill Pass.
• Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, February 13 to 14, 201313 eventsAn area of low pressure developed over Alabama and Georgia early in the morning on the 13th and tracked northeastward to the Mid Atlantic coast by the evening, passing just south of the Delmarva Peninsula.
• Winter Weather in New Jersey, February 13 to 14, 201321 eventsAn area of low pressure developed over Alabama and Georgia early in the morning on the 13th and tracked northeastward to the Mid Atlantic coast by the evening, passing just south of the Delmarva Peninsula.
• Heavy Snow in Montana, February 13 to 14, 20131 eventLight snow over portions of Central Montana resulted in isolated reports of heavy snow.
• Winter Weather in Michigan, February 13 to 15, 20133 eventsA quick moving low pressure system brought moderate snow to portions of west and south central Upper Michigan from 2/13-2/14.
• Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 13 to 14, 20131 eventAn inverted surface trough of low pressure extended north into the Lower Koyukuk and Middle Yukon Valley from a 982 mb low in the northern Gulf of Alaska at 0600AKST on the morning of the 14th.

The snowstorm of February 8 to 10, 2013The snowstorm of February 18 to 21, 2013Snow nowEvery winter storm filed

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