The snowstorm of January 17 to 18, 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

324

Deaths

2

Injuries

0

Damage

$644,000

Episodes

43

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.

• Winter Weather in West Virginia, January 15 to 16, 201311 eventsA cold front stalled to the south of the Mid Atlantic region and a weak disturbance moved along it. Northerly flow caused temperatures to get below freezing west of the Blue Ridge and Northern Maryland.
• Ice Storm in West Virginia, January 15 to 16, 20131 eventA fast moving low pressure center brought a mix of winter precipitation to the upper Ohio Valley. Freezing rain accumulations of over one quarter inch occurred across portions of Tucker county West Virginia and Garrett county Maryland.
• Ice Storm in Maryland, January 15 to 16, 20131 eventA fast moving low pressure center brought a mix of winter precipitation to the upper Ohio Valley. Freezing rain accumulations of over one quarter inch occurred across portions of Tucker county West Virginia and Garrett county Maryland.
• Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, January 15 to 16, 20131 eventA fast moving low pressure center brought a mix of winter precipitation to the upper Ohio Valley. Freezing rain accumulations of over one quarter inch occurred across portions of Tucker county West Virginia and Garrett county Maryland.
• Winter Weather in Maryland, January 15 to 16, 20136 eventsA cold front stalled to the south of the Mid Atlantic region and a weak disturbance moved along it. Northerly flow caused temperatures to get below freezing west of the Blue Ridge and Northern Maryland.
• Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 15 to 16, 20136 eventsA low pressure system brought mainly snow to Sussex and Warren Counties and a wintry mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain to Middelsex, Morris, Somerset and Hunterdon Counties. Snowfall in Warren and Sussex Counties averaged 3 to 5 inches.
• Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, January 15 to 16, 20139 eventsA low pressure system brought mainly snow to the Poconos, a wintry mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain to the Lehigh Valley and some freezing rain and sleet to Berks County and the Philadelphia northwest suburbs overnight on the 15th.
• Winter Weather in New York, January 16, 201313 eventsAn area of low pressure moved off the mid Atlantic coast Tuesday night, January 15th, and passed just south of Cape Cod Wednesday afternoon the 16th. Snow associated with this low overspread east central New York during the early morning hours Wednesday.
• Winter Weather in Connecticut, January 16, 20132 eventsAn area of low pressure moved off the mid Atlantic coast Tuesday night, January 15th, and passed just south of Cape Cod Wednesday afternoon the 16th. Snow associated with this low overspread northwestern Connecticut during the early morning hours Wednesday.
• Winter Weather in Massachusetts, January 16, 20132 eventsAn area of low pressure moved off the mid Atlantic coast Tuesday night, January 15th, and passed just south of Cape Cod Wednesday afternoon the 16th. Snow associated with this low overspread the Berkshires during the early morning hours Wednesday.
• Winter Weather in Vermont, January 16, 20133 eventsAn area of low pressure moved off the mid Atlantic coast Tuesday night, January 15th, and passed just south of Cape Cod Wednesday afternoon the 16th. Snow associated with this low overspread southern Vermont during the early morning hours Wednesday.
• Winter Weather in Iowa, January 16, 20131 death · $5,000 · 1 eventOne person was killed January 16th after a car skidded off an ice covered county road, hit a rock, rolled and ejected the driver. The accident occurred near Harpers Ferry (Allamakee County) after freezing drizzle earlier in the day had created a glaze of ice on untreated roads.
• Winter Weather in Michigan, January 16 to 18, 201312 eventsTwo Arctic air masses moving across the Upper Great Lakes brought periods of moderate snow to much of west and central Upper Michigan from the 16th into the 18th.
• Heavy Snow in Mississippi, January 16 to 17, 2013$100,000 · 28 eventsVery cold air aloft associated with an upper low crossing the Deep South made the atmosphere favorable for snow during the early morning hours of Thursday, January 17th.
• Heavy Snow in Louisiana, January 16 to 17, 20131 eventVery cold air aloft associated with an upper low made the atmosphere more favorable for snow as we into the early morning hours of Thursday, January 17th.
• Winter Weather in Mississippi, January 17, 20137 eventsAn upper level low pressure system tracked across Central Mississippi during the morning hours of January 17th, 2013. Precipitation fell in the form of snow underneath where the upper low tracked.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, January 17, 20133 eventsAn upper level trough moved through the eastern U.S. Surface low pressure formed near the Carolinas and tracked eastward towards the Atlantic Coast. Moisture ahead of this system aided in snow development as well as instability. Areas in central Virginia saw the most snowfall.
• Heavy Snow in West Virginia, January 17 to 18, 20134 eventsA deep low pressure system tracked from northern Georgia to the North Carolina coast.
• Heavy Snow in Virginia, January 17 to 18, 201318 eventsA deep low pressure system tracked from northern Georgia to the North Carolina coast.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Alabama, January 17, 201314 eventsA strong upper level storm system moved northeast through the Tennessee valley region, with heavy snowfall and sleet reported in portions of north Alabama. Snowfall amounts ranged from up to an inch in northwest Alabama, to three to four inches in north central Alabama.
• Heavy Snow in Virginia, January 17, 20132 eventsThe last of 3 distinct waves, along a stalled front to the east and south, passed during the day on the 17th. The precipitation started as rain during the morning. It changed over to sleet and wet snow by midday. A quick shot of heavy wet snow fell during the afternoon hours.
• Heavy Snow in Tennessee, January 17, 201322 eventsVery strong lifting of a moist air mass in the presence of an upper level low pressure system resulted in a heavy wet snowfall event during the period from around noon est until early evening. Atmospheric dynamics were so intense at times, that lightning was generated; i.e.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Kentucky, January 17, 20134 eventsA low pressure system tracking to our south provided a shot of snow to parts of extreme southeast Kentucky on Thursday January 17th. There was a sharp cutoff to the precipitation, but where it fell, it fell heavily for a 2 to 3 hour period.
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in West Virginia, January 17, 20132 eventsThe last of 3 distinct waves, along a stalled front to the east and south, passed during the day on the 17th. It brought a quick shot of heavy snow, as far north as extreme southern West Virginia. Three to 10 inches of wet snow fell in 6 hours in McDowell County.
• Winter Weather in Tennessee, January 17, 20133 eventsA strong upper level storm system moved northeast through the Tennessee valley region, with light snowfall reported over portions of southern middle Tennessee. A dusting to a half of an inch of snow was reported across the area.
• Winter Weather in Tennessee, January 17, 2013$35,000 · 2 eventsAs a strong upper level low passed south of Middle Tennesssee as the day progressed on Thursday, Janurary 17th, rainfall during the morning hours changed over to sleet snow mix, resulting in accumulating amounts across these two counties.
• Heavy Snow in Virginia, January 17, 20137 eventsVery strong lifting of a moist air mass in the presence of an upper level low pressure system resulted in a heavy wet snowfall event during the period from around noon est until early evening. Atmospheric dynamics were so intense at times, that lightning was generated; i.e.
• Heavy Snow in North Carolina, January 17 to 18, 20134 eventsA deep low pressure system tracked from northern Georgia to the North Carolina coast.
• Winter Weather and Strong Wind in Georgia, January 17, 2013$4,000 · 5 eventsAt the conclusion of the heavy rainfall event on the 16th, a strong upper level low moved across the Southeast, basically across the Interstate 20 corridor. Several light bands of snow fell particularly north and west of the track of the upper low on the 17th.
• Winter Weather in Virginia, January 17 to 18, 201330 eventsLow pressure moving off the North Carolina Coast produced between one and three inches of snow across portions of central and eastern Virginia from Thursday afternoon into Thursday night, January 17th.
• Winter Storm in Virginia, January 17 to 18, 20138 eventsLow pressure moving off the North Carolina Coast produced between three and six inches of snow across portions of central and south central Virginia from Thursday afternoon into Thursday night, January 17th.
• Heavy Snow in North Carolina, January 17, 20134 eventsHeavy rain changed to snow across the higher elevations of the North Carolina mountains during the late afternoon hours. Snow levels lowered in elevation through early evening, during which time snow quickly accumulated to as much as 4 inches across the higher elevations.
• Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 17, 201318 eventsRain gradually began to change to snow, first in the higher elevations of the central mountains, followed by the northern foothills and the northwest Piedmont.
• Winter Storm and Strong Wind in North Carolina, January 17 to 18, 2013$500,000 · 8 eventsA powerful upper level storm system moved across the region, producing rainfall at the onset of the event which changed to snow as the upper low moved across the region and colder air moved into the region behind it.
• Cold in Illinois, January 17, 20131 death · 1 eventLow temperatures around 20 with highs near freezing contributed to the cold exposure death of a man.
• Winter Weather in Maryland, January 17 to 18, 20135 eventsLow pressure moving off the North Carolina Coast produced between one and two inches of snow across portions of the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore from Thursday evening, January 17th into early Friday morning, January 18th.
• Winter Weather in Delaware, January 17 to 18, 20132 eventsA low pressure system that formed over the southeastern United States on the 17th brought rain and then snow to Sussex County. Precipitation started as rain on the 17th, but then changed to snow during the evening of the 17th and ended early in the morning on the 18th.
• Blizzard in North Dakota, January 19, 201313 eventsAs a surface low pressure system moved into northern Minnesota on the 19th, a cold front surged southward with northwest winds of 35 mph to 50 mph behind it. These strong winds picked up loose snow and dirt which resulted in ground blizzard conditions in open country.
• Blizzard in Minnesota, January 19, 20138 eventsAs a surface low pressure system moved into northern Minnesota on the 19th, a cold front surged southward with northwest winds of 35 mph to 50 mph behind it. These strong winds picked up loose snow and dirt which resulted in ground blizzard conditions in open country.
• Extreme Cold and Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, January 19 to 23, 201325 eventsAn Alberta clipper system ushered bitter cold Arctic air across the Upper Great Lakes during the period. The bitter cold air mass also helped sustain periods of moderate to heavy lake effect snow over several days.
• Blizzard in North Dakota, January 19, 20133 eventsA strong cold front moving out of Canada and into the Northern Plains resulted in sustained winds to around 40 miles per hour and peak gusts to near 60 miles per hour over far north central North Dakota.
• Blizzard in Alaska, January 19, 20131 eventIn mid through late January a persistent pattern set-up with strong systems moving up from the North Pacific into the Eastern Aleutians/Alaska Peninsula, continuing on into the Bering Sea.
• Winter Storm in Michigan, January 19 to 20, 20134 eventsStrong and cold northwest winds surged into northern Michigan on the evening of the 19th, as low pressure crossing Upper Michigan pushed a cold front across the region. The front itself brought intense snow showers, some producing thunder and lightning.

The snowstorm of January 15 to 16, 2013The snowstorm of January 21 to 22, 2013Snow nowEvery winter storm filed

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