The snowstorm of January 21 to 22, 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

276

Deaths

4

Injuries

42

Damage

$5.0 million

Episodes

40

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, January 19 to 20, 201358 kt wind · 2 eventsA strong 972 mb low pressure system entered the Southern Bering Strait early in the morning on January 19th.
• Extreme Cold in North Dakota, January 20 to 21, 201327 eventsAn Arctic Airmass building across the Northern Plains brought sub-zero temperatures and winds up to twenty miles per hour from the 20th into the morning of the 21st.
• Lake-Effect Snow in New York, January 20 to 21, 20133 eventsA cold front swept from north to south on Sunday, leading to cold northwest flow over the Great Lakes. This generated lake effect snow for central New York. Snowfall amounts ranged from 7 to 13 inches for cities along and north of the New York Thruway.
• Lake-Effect Snow in New York, January 20 to 21, 2013$30,000 · 3 eventsAfter an area of low pressure crossed the Upper Great Lakes, lake effect snows developed off Lake Ontario under a cold, northwest flow.
• Extreme Cold in North Dakota, January 20 to 21, 201318 eventsIn the wake of the ground blizzard on the 19th that affected portions of northeast North Dakota and the extreme northwest corner of Minnesota, frigid air moved into the region.
• Cold in Illinois, January 20, 20131 death · 1 eventLow temperatures in the teens with highs in the upper 20's contributed to the cold exposure death of a man.
• Extreme Cold in Maine, January 20 to 27, 201315 eventsAn arctic cold front crossed the region during the afternoon of the 20th bringing the coldest air of the season to northern and eastern Maine. The arctic air then remained into the 27th. The coldest temperatures of the arctic outbreak occurred during the morning of the 22nd.
• Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 20 to 22, 201324 eventsIn the wake of the ground blizzard on the 19th that affected portions of northeast North Dakota and the extreme northwest corner of Minnesota, frigid air moved into the region.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in Minnesota, January 20 to 21, 20138 eventsModerate to strong northwest winds and bitterly cold air combined to lower wind chill readings to 35 to 40 degrees below zero over southwest Minnesota from the evening of January 20th through the morning of January 21st.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in South Dakota, January 20 to 21, 20137 eventsModerate to strong northwest winds and bitterly cold air combined to lower wind chill readings to 20 to 40 degrees below zero over part of southeast South Dakota from the evening of January 20th through the morning of January 21st.
• Cold in Iowa, January 20 to 21, 20136 eventsModerate to strong northwest winds and bitterly cold air combined to lower wind chill readings to 20 to 35 degrees below zero over part of northwest Iowa from the evening of January 20th through the morning of January 21st.
• Extreme Cold in South Dakota, January 20 to 21, 201311 eventsA surge of Arctic air caused blustery northwest winds which produced extreme wind chill values between 35 to 45 degrees below zero from Sunday evening into Monday morning. Many area schools started late on Monday.
• Cold in Wisconsin, January 20 to 21, 20131 death · 1 eventBrisk northwest winds brought bitterly cold arctic air into Wisconsin. A Green Bay man died of hypothermia outside his home early on the morning of January 21st. Temperatures were in the single digits with wind chills of 10 below to 15 below zero.
• Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, January 21 to 22, 20137 eventsLake effect snow began on January 20th and continued all the way through January 24th, primarily impacting the Lake Michigan shoreline counties and areas west of US-131 with the heaviest snow amounts and totals.
• Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 20 to 21, 20132 eventsA surge of Arctic air caused blustery northwest winds which produced extreme wind chill values between 35 to 40 degrees below zero from late Sunday evening into Monday morning. Many area schools started late on Monday.
• Winter Storm in Pennsylvania, January 21 to 24, 2013$350,000 · 2 eventsAn arctic airmass was in place across Lake Erie and northwestern Pennsylvania from January 21 to January 24 resulting in periods of heavy lake effect snow in the snowbelt.
• Winter Storm in Ohio, January 21 to 24, 2013$300,000 · 3 eventsAn arctic airmass was in place across Lake Erie and Northeast Ohio from January 21 to Januray 24 resulting in periods of heavy lake effect snow in the snowbelt.
• Cold in Minnesota, January 21 to 22, 201315 eventsA Dangerous wind chill temperatures of 40 to 50 degrees F below zero developed across northeast Minnesota on January 21st.
• Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, January 21 to 22, 20131 eventVery cold, but relatively light, northwest winds brought lake effect snow to northern Michigan. An isolated area of heavy snow occurred in the Paradise area of eastern Upper Michigan, where around 9 inches of snow fell on the 21st.
• Cold in Wisconsin, January 21 to 22, 201320 eventsArctic air spread into southern Wisconsin behind deep low pressure that tracked to the north of the state. About 2,000 feet above ground level, 925 mb temperatures fell to -17C to -22C with 925 mb winds of 20 to 30 knots.
• Winter Weather in Ohio, January 21, 20131 death · 41 injured · $4.2 million · 3 eventsA highly unstable airmass produced deep convective snow showers that produced snow squalls during the late morning into the afternoon. These isolated squalls caused whiteout conditions on area roadways.
• Lake-Effect Snow in New York, January 21 to 23, 2013$136,000 · 12 eventsLake snows persisted as a deep trough of low pressure became entrenched across the northeast United States.
• Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, January 21, 20135 eventsSnow showers, which were briefly heavy, followed a cold frontal passage and caused quick accumulations of 1 to 2 inches in and around the local Philadelphia area on the 21st. Snow began falling shortly after 6 p.m. EST that evening and fell heavy at times between 7 p.m.
• Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 21, 201314 eventsSnow showers, which were briefly heavy, followed a cold frontal passage and caused quick accumulations of 1 to 3 inches (highest snowfall in Ocean County) in central and southern New Jersey. The heaviest snowfall occurred along and to the east of the Interstate 95 corridor.
• Winter Weather in Delaware, January 21, 20131 eventSnow showers, which were briefly moderate, followed a cold frontal passage and caused quick accumulations of around one inch in New Castle County on the 21st. Snow began falling after 6 p.m. EST that evening and fell moderately at times between 7 p.m. EST and 8 p.m.
• Cold in West Virginia, January 21 to 23, 20132 eventsA tight wind field behind an arctic cold front combined with temperatures in the single digits to near zero produced wind chills from 10 to 20 degrees below zero.
• Cold in Maryland, January 21 to 23, 20131 eventA tight wind field behind an arctic cold front combined with temperatures in the single digits to near zero produced wind chills from 10 to 20 degrees below zero.
• Cold in West Virginia, January 22, 20134 eventsCold arctic air moved into West Virginia during the early morning on the 22nd. Temperatures dropped into the minus 5 to plus 5 degree range by dawn, then rose only slowly by late morning.
• Lake-Effect Snow in New York, January 22, 20132 eventsA westerly flow of cold air over the Great Lakes produced significant lake effect snow over Oneida county in central New York. Snowfall amounts ranged from 7 to 18 inches.
• Lake-Effect Snow in Pennsylvania, January 22 to 23, 20131 eventA very cold northwest flow over the Great Lakes produced significant lake-effect snow in the Warren County snowbelt.
• Cold in Ohio, January 22 to 23, 20131 eventA tight wind field behind an arctic cold front combined with temperatures in the single digits to near zero produced wind chills from 10 to 20 degrees below zero.
• Cold in Pennsylvania, January 22 to 23, 20131 eventA tight wind field behind an arctic cold front combined with temperatures in the single digits to near zero produced wind chills from 10 to 20 degrees below zero.
• Cold in New York, January 22 to 25, 201330 eventsAn arctic airmass settled in over the region on January 22nd and remained in place for a few days as cold fronts moved across the region ushering in reinforcing surges of cold air.
• Cold in Vermont, January 22 to 25, 20135 eventsAn arctic airmass settled in over the region on January 22nd and remained in place for a few days as cold fronts moved across the region ushering in reinforcing surges of cold air.
• Cold in Massachusetts, January 22 to 25, 20134 eventsAn arctic airmass settled in over the region on January 22nd and remained in place for a few days as cold fronts moved across the region ushering in reinforcing surges of cold air.
• Cold in Connecticut, January 22 to 25, 20132 eventsAn arctic airmass settled in over the region on January 22nd and remained in place for a few days as cold fronts moved across the region ushering in reinforcing surges of cold air.
• Cold in Pennsylvania, January 22 to 23, 20131 death · 2 eventsThe northwest flow behind a departing low pressure system coupled with one of the coldest air masses of the winter season dropped low temperatures below zero in the Poconos and produced hourly wind chill factors between 15 degrees and 20 degrees below zero during the late…
• Cold in New Jersey, January 23, 20131 injured · 1 eventThe northwest flow behind a departing low pressure system coupled with one of the coldest air masses of the winter season dropped low temperatures into the single numbers across most of central and northwest New Jersey and produced hourly wind chill factors below zero from the…
• Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in West Virginia, January 23 to 24, 20138 eventsWest Virginia was well entrenched in cold arctic air. Temperatures were mostly in the upper teens and lower 20s during the afternoon of the 23rd. A warm front developed in Kentucky.
• Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, January 23 to 24, 20131 eventAn intense lake effect snow band dropped a quick 4 to 12 inches of heavy snow across far southwest Lower Michigan.

The snowstorm of January 17 to 18, 2013The snowstorm of January 25 to 27, 2013Snow nowEvery winter storm filed

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