The snowstorm of January 17 to 19, 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

483

Deaths

4

Injuries

55

Damage

$475,000

Episodes

76

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.

• Cold in New Jersey, January 16 to 18, 200921 eventsA large arctic high pressure system moved toward the area during the 16th and 17th. The extent of the arctic air mass kept maximum temperatures only in the teens, with even some single digits across northwestern New Jersey.
• Cold in Maryland, January 16 to 18, 20095 eventsA large arctic high pressure system moved toward the area during the 16th and 17th. The extent of the arctic air mass kept maximum temperatures only in the teens and 20s, with minimum temperatures down into the single digits.
• Cold in Delaware, January 16 to 18, 20093 eventsA large arctic high pressure system moved toward the area during the 16th and 17th. The extent of the arctic air mass kept maximum temperatures only in the teens and 20s, with minimum temperatures down into the single digits.
• Cold in West Virginia, January 16 to 17, 20093 eventsArctic air poured into West Virginia on the 15th. By dawn on the 16th the coldest temperatures were across the highest elevations. Snowshoe dropped to 17 degrees below zero during the morning of the 16th.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in Tennessee, January 16, 20093 eventsAn arctic air mass plunged temperatures and wind chills to dangerous levels during the evening hours on the 15th trough early on the 16th. Wind chills dropped to 10 to 15 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
• Cold in Alabama, January 16 to 17, 20097 eventsArctic air pushed into the area behind a potent cold front, dropping temperatures below 10 degrees on the morning of the 16th. Wind chill values dipped below zero in Madison and Jackson counties.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in New York, January 16, 200914 eventsA bitterly cold air mass spread across much of east central New York and adjacent western New England during Friday January 16th.
• Cold in Vermont, January 16, 20093 eventsA bitterly cold air mass spread across much of east central New York and adjacent western New England during Friday January 16th.
• Cold in Massachusetts, January 16, 20092 eventsA bitterly cold air mass spread across much of east central New York and adjacent western New England during Friday January 16th.
• Cold in Connecticut, January 16, 20091 eventA bitterly cold air mass spread across much of east central New York and adjacent western New England during Friday January 16th.
• Extreme Cold in Ohio, January 16 to 17, 20096 eventsArctic air moved over the Upper Ohio Valley with a large dome of High pressure. Morning lows across eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, and Garrett county Maryland.
• Extreme Cold in Pennsylvania, January 16 to 17, 20095 eventsArctic air moved over the Upper Ohio Valley with a large dome of High pressure. Morning lows across eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, and Garrett county Maryland.
• Extreme Cold in West Virginia, January 16 to 17, 20094 eventsArctic air moved over the Upper Ohio Valley with a large dome of High pressure. Morning lows across eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, and Garrett county Maryland.
• Extreme Cold in Maryland, January 16 to 17, 20091 eventArctic air moved over the Upper Ohio Valley with a large dome of High pressure. Morning lows across eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, and Garrett county Maryland.
• Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 16, 20091 death · 1 eventA 65-year-old Carlisle man died on the morning of the 16th when his wheelchair became stuck in the snow in -18 F weather. It appeared the wheelchair became stuck in the snow as he was attempting to clear the pathway into his house.
• Blizzard and Winter Storm in Alaska, January 16 to 18, 200956 kt wind · 12 eventsA 949 mb low across the Alaska Peninsula on the morning of the 16th tracked into the Norton Sound early on the morning of the 17th, and weakened to 978 mb by Noon on the 17th.
• Winter Weather in North Dakota, January 16 to 18, 200936 eventsSignificant travel problems developed due to blowing and drifting snow through the entire weekend of Friday, January 16th, through Sunday, January 18th.
• Cold in Pennsylvania, January 16 to 18, 200910 eventsA large arctic high pressure system moved toward the area during the 16th and 17th. The extent of the arctic air mass kept maximum temperatures only in the teens, with even some single digits across northeastern Pennslyvania.
• Cold in New York, January 16 to 17, 20097 eventsThe combination of low temperatures of -5 to -20 F, and winds of 5 to 10 MPH, created wind chills of -20 to -28 F across the southern Adirondacks and Helderbergs, and -15 to -24 F across the eastern Catskills Friday night into Saturday morning.
• Cold in Vermont, January 16 to 17, 20091 eventThe combination of low temperatures of -5 to -20 F, and winds of 5 to 10 MPH, created wind chills of -20 to -28 F across western Windham County Friday night into Saturday morning.
• Winter Storm and Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, January 17 to 20, 200914 eventsA clipper low pressure system tracking across Lake Superior and stalling out over southeast Ontario brought moderate snow and locally heavy lake effect snow to portions of west and central Upper Michigan from the 17th into the 20th.
• Heavy Snow in Michigan, January 17 to 18, 200913 eventsA clipper low pressure system strengthened as it approached Michigan from the northwest. This storm produced two areas of heavy snow. The main system snow fell in a wide band from Charlevoix and Bellaire, southeastward through Grayling and on to Standish and Tawas City.
• Winter Storm in Michigan, January 17, 20094 eventsThe last in a series of Alberta clipper systems was located near International Falls, Minnesota on the morning of the seventeenth. The low pressure system moved east southeast to Lake Huron by the eighteenth.
• Winter Storm in Michigan, January 17 to 18, 20093 eventsSnow overspread southeast Michigan around 10 AM Saturday January 17th and continued into Saturday night. Twenty-One hour snowfall totals averaged 4 to 7 inches along and north of I-94 with a few isolated 8 inch reports north of I-69.
• Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 17 to 18, 20091 eventA weather system moving north over the Gulf of Alaska moved a warm front across the panhandle. As it moved over the northern panhandle a band of heavy snow developed on the Klondike Highway near White Pass.
• Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 17 to 18, 20098 eventsStrong low pressure moving southeast from the Great Lakes produced bands of heavy snow across western Pennsylvania. an average of 8 inches of snow fell across northwest Pennsylvania with highest amounts of 10 inches in 24 hours.
• Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, January 17 to 18, 20092 eventsAn area of low pressure moved through the Great Lakes region during the 17th and 18th. This system was more like an Alberta Clipper as it originated near the providence of Alberta Canada.
• Winter Weather in Tennessee, January 17 to 18, 200913 injured · 2 eventsA light freezing rain and drizzle event occurred across portions of the Cumberland Plateau during the late evening hours on the 17th and the early morning hours of the 18th.
• Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 17 to 18, 20095 eventsSnow showers developed across the mountains of western North Carolina during the late evening, and continued off and on for much of the night, before tapering off on the morning of the 18th. Snow accumulations ranged from trace amounts to amounts of around 3 inches.
• Winter Weather in Georgia, January 17 to 18, 20092 eventsSnow showers developed across the mountains of northeast Georgia during the late evening, and continued off and on for much of the night, before tapering off on the morning of the 18th. Snow accumulations ranged from trace amounts to amounts of around 3 inches.
• Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 17 to 18, 20092 eventsAn area of low pressure moved through the Great Lakes region during the 17th and 18th. This system was more like an Alberta Clipper as it originated near the providence of Alberta Canada.
• Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, January 18, 20092 eventsA low pressure system in the Great Lakes redeveloped south of New England, spreading snow across the area.
• Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, January 18, 200912 eventsAn area of low pressure moving through the Great Lakes and a secondary low that developed in the Gulf of Maine combined to produce heavy snow across the state.
• Heavy Snow in Maine, January 18 to 19, 200911 eventsIntensifying low pressure tracking across the Gulf of Maine brought heavy snow to east-central and Downeast Maine. Snow began during the early morning hours of the 18th then continued into the morning of the 19th.
• Heavy Snow in Maine, January 18, 200917 eventsAn area of low pressure moving through the Great Lakes and a secondary low that developed in the Gulf of Maine combined to produce heavy snow across the state. Snowfall amounts generally ranged from 8 to 16 across most of the western half of the state.
• Heavy Snow in Massachusetts, January 18, 200911 eventsA low pressure system in the Great Lakes redeveloped south of New England, spreading snow across the area.
• Heavy Snow in Rhode Island, January 18, 20093 eventsA low pressure system in the Great Lakes redeveloped south of New England, spreading snow across the area.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in New York, January 18, 200918 eventsA low pressure system tracked east from the eastern Great Lakes Sunday morning January 18th, across northern New England Sunday afternoon and evening, to a position off the northern New England coast by Monday morning January 19th.
• Lake-Effect Snow in Ohio, January 18, 2009$225,000 · 3 eventsAn area of low pressure passed to the north of Lake Erie on January 18th. A cold front extending south from the low swept east across Northeast Ohio by daybreak on the 18th. Cold westerly winds behind the front caused lake effect snow bands to quickly develop.
• Winter Weather in Vermont, January 18, 20093 eventsA low pressure system tracked east from the eastern Great Lakes Sunday morning January 18th, across northern New England Sunday afternoon and evening, to a position off the northern New England coast by Monday morning January 19th.
• Winter Weather in Massachusetts, January 18, 20092 eventsA low pressure system tracked east from the eastern Great Lakes Sunday morning January 18th, across northern New England Sunday afternoon and evening, to a position off the northern New England coast by Monday morning January 19th.
• Heavy Snow in New York, January 18, 20092 eventsA band of heavy snow developed and persisted over parts of the Catskills in the wake of a departing low pressure system that intensified off the east coast. Snowfall rates were around 1 inch per hour or greater in the most intense part of the band.
• Winter Weather in Connecticut, January 18, 20091 eventA low pressure system tracked east from the eastern Great Lakes Sunday morning January 18th, across northern New England Sunday afternoon and evening, to a position off the northern New England coast by Monday morning January 19th.
• Lake-Effect Snow in Pennsylvania, January 18 to 19, 2009$250,000 · 3 eventsAn area of low pressure passed to the north of Lake Erie on January 18th. A cold front extending south from the low swept east across northwestern Pennsylvania just before daybreak on the 18th.
• Winter Weather in Illinois, January 18 to 19, 20094 injured · 1 eventA weak low pressure system passing through the mid-Mississippi valley resulted in 1 to 3 inches of snow and light icing across central and eastern Illinois. This light precipitation event produced several traffic accidents.
• Winter Weather in West Virginia, January 18, 20091 eventA cold northwest flow behind a cold front triggered snow showers across eastern West Virginia along and west of the Allegheny front on the 18th. An area of low pressure passed through on the 19th bringing another period of snow.
• Winter Weather in Maryland, January 18, 20091 eventA cold northwest flow behind a cold front triggered snow showers across western Maryland along and west of the Allegheny front. The snow showers occurred on the 18th. An area of low pressure passed through the region on the 19th bringing another period of snow.
• Winter Weather in Delaware, January 18, 200910 injured · 3 eventsAn area of low pressure moved through the Great Lakes region during the 18th. As this system neared the eastern Great Lakes, another storm system developed near the coast of the Mid Altantic during the early evening hours of the 18th.
• Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 18, 20095 injured · 13 eventsAn area of low pressure moved through the Great Lakes region during the 18th. As this system neared the eastern Great Lakes, another storm system developed near the coast of the Mid Altantic during the early evening hours of the 18th.
• Heavy Snow in North Carolina, January 18 to 21, 20098 eventsSnow showers developed over the western mountains during the late evening of the 18th, and continued off and on through the evening hours of the 20th.
• Winter Weather in Illinois, January 18 to 19, 20093 eventsA vigorous upper level storm system moved southeast across the Lower Ohio Valley. This system produced two to three inches of snow east of Mount Vernon and along and north of Interstate 64 in southern Illinois. Three inches of snow fell at Mount Carmel.
• Winter Weather in Indiana, January 18 to 19, 20092 eventsA vigorous upper level storm system moved southeast across the Lower Ohio Valley. This system produced two to three inches of snow along and north of Interstate 64. Slick roads and numerous accidents were reported. Most of the accidents were east of U.S. Highway 41.
• Winter Weather in Kentucky, January 18 to 19, 20097 eventsA weather disturbance, combined with northwest winds flowing over the higher terrain of Eastern Kentucky, resulted in a widespread snowfall across the area on January 18th through the 19th. Most areas saw 1 to 2 inches of snow.
• Lake-Effect Snow in Indiana, January 18 to 20, 20092 eventsLake effect snow developed late in the evening on January 18th over Porter County and then shifted west across Lake County during the early morning hours of January 20th. The lake effect snow ended during the evening hours of January 20th.
• Heavy Snow in Massachusetts, January 19, 20092 eventsAn upper level disturbance followed the previous days clipper low providing enough energy for an isolated heavy snow event along the east coast of Massachusetts.
• Winter Weather in Delaware, January 19, 20095 injured · 1 eventAn upper-level disturbance moved near the area on the 19th. While the snowfall was light, less than an inch, the combination of the light coating of snow, temperatures below freezing and the development of fog lead to icy conditions.
• Winter Weather in Tennessee, January 19, 20092 eventsAs a cold front moved through northern portions of the mid state on the 19th, one to two inches of snow fell across northern Macon and Sumner Counties.
• Winter Weather in Maryland, January 19, 20097 eventsAn area of low pressure passed through the Mid-Atlantic spreading a period of snow across Maryland. The snow fell during the morning and afternoon hours of the 19th.
• Winter Weather in Virginia, January 19, 20093 eventsAn area of low pressure passed through the Mid-Atlantic spreading a period of snow across northern and central Virginia. The snow fell during the morning and afternoon hours of the 19th.
• Winter Weather in West Virginia, January 19, 20092 eventsAn area of low pressure passed through the Mid-Atlantic spreading a period of snow across eastern West Virginia. The snow fell during the morning and afternoon hours of the 19th.
• Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, January 19, 200910 injured · 8 eventsA couple of upper-level disturbances moved near the area on the 19th. One clipped the New Jersey coast with a period of mainly light snow, however a secondary one, which was tied to a main disturbance in the eastern Great Lakes, produced an area of moderate to locally heavy snow…
• Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 19, 20091 death · 8 injured · 18 eventsA couple of upper-level disturbances moved near the area on the 19th. One clipped the New Jersey coast with a period of mainly light snow, however a secondary one, which was tied to a main disturbance in the eastern Great Lakes, produced an area of moderate to locally heavy snow…
• Winter Weather in Alabama, January 19, 20091 eventA cold front brought snow showers on the evening of the 19th. Snow accumulations of 1/2 to 1 inch was reported in the higher elevations of DeKalb County causing at least one road closure.
• Winter Weather in Tennessee, January 19, 20091 eventA cold front brought snow showers on the evening of the 19th. Snow accumulations of up to 1 inch was reported in Sewanee.
• Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 19 to 20, 20098 eventsSnow showers developed during the late evening of the 19th, and continued off and on through the overnight hours, before tapering off by early afternoon on the 20th.
• Winter Weather in South Carolina, January 19 to 20, 20093 eventsSnow showers developed during the late evening of the 19th, and continued off and on through the overnight hours, before tapering off by early afternoon on the 20th.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 20 to 22, 20092 deaths · 34 eventsOn January 20, 2009 the first major winter storm to strike Central North Carolina since 2004 brought 3 to 7 inches of snow to most of the area.
• Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 20, 200916 eventsSnow developed across the foothills and western Piedmont of North Carolina. The snow continued through the overnight hours before tapering off during the morning.
• Winter Weather in South Carolina, January 20, 20098 eventsSnow developed across Upstate South Carolina, generally in areas along and east of highway 25. The snow continued through the overnight hours before tapering off during the morning.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in South Carolina, January 20, 20099 eventsA winter weather event produced 1 to 4 inches of snow across the upper Midlands and Pee Dee region of South Carolina.
• Heavy Snow in North Carolina, January 20, 20092 eventsSnow developed during the pre-dawn hours across the Piedmont. As snow continued to fall across the Piedmont, heavy snowfall amounts were reached across Cabarrus and Union Counties shortly before the snow completely tapered off.
• Heavy Snow in South Carolina, January 20, 20092 eventsLow pressure tracked east across the Carolinas, then pushed offshore, dumping two to four inches of snow across much of the region.
• Heavy Snow in North Carolina, January 20, 200915 eventsLow pressure developed over South Carolina during the early morning hours of Jan 20th 2009. The low pressure system tracked northeast and intensified offshore of the North Carolina coast during the rest of the day.
• Heavy Snow in North Carolina, January 20, 20093 eventsLow pressure tracked east across the Carolinas, then pushed offshore, dumping two to four inches of snow across much of the region.
• Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 20, 20095 eventsLow pressure moving off the Mid Atlantic Coast produced one to three and a half inches of snow across portions of northeast North Carolina.
• Winter Weather in Virginia, January 20, 20093 eventsLow pressure moving off the Mid Atlantic Coast produced one to two inches of snow across portions of south central Virginia.

The snowstorm of January 9 to 12, 2009The snowstorm of February 22 to 24, 2009Snow nowEvery winter storm filed

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