The snowstorm of March 19 to 22, 2006

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

386

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Damage

$2.8 million

Episodes

52

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.

• Heavy Snow in Nevada, March 17 to 18, 20062 eventsA winter storm brought around ten inches of snow to the Tonopah area and seven to ten inches in the Elko area.
• Heavy Snow in Utah, March 18 to 19, 200610 eventsA fast moving but potent storm brough as much as a foot and a half of snow to central and northern Utah in 24 hours.
• Blizzard in Alaska, March 18, 20061 eventA storm moved into the northern Gulf of Alaska Saturday morning. Moderate to heavy snow fell in advance and along the front associated with this storm as it moved into the south central coastal area of Alaska. Blizzard conditions began around 10 A.M.
• Blizzard in Montana, March 18 to 20, 20063 eventsBlizzard conditions affected a portion of northeast Montana. The storm was slow moving and tracked from the Great Basin into the central Plains. Snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 8 inches across the areas that observed blizzard conditions.
• Winter Storm in South Dakota, March 18 to 21, 200624 eventsA strong winter storm developed across the Rockies and moved slowly across the Plains, bringing a prolonged period of snow and wind to western and south central South Dakota. Snow started late on the 18th and continued through the afternoon and evening hours of the 20th.
• Heavy Snow in Nebraska, March 18 to 20, 20065 eventsA prolonged upslope pattern resulted in heavy snowfall across much of the Nebraska panhandle with snowfall amounts from 6 to 10 inches reported in general. Kimball and Sidney, Neb. each reported around 10 inches while Chadron, Neb. received about 9 inches of snow.
• Heavy Snow in Wyoming, March 18 to 20, 20063 eventsA prolonged upslope pattern produced resulted in heavy snow across much of the southeast Wyoming plains. By the time the snow ended on the 20th, Cheyenne Wy. received around 12 inches of snow with around 13 inches reported from Torrington and Yoder, Wy.
• Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 19, 2006$8,000 · 6 eventsA strong developing low from the north central Pacific Ocean deepened to the mid 980 MBs as it moved to Prince William Sound area through the 19th of March.
• Heavy Snow in Idaho, March 18 to 20, 20061 eventA late season winter storm affected the South Central Highlands. Snow amounts of a foot were reported 8 miles southeast of Burley and 3 miles south of Oakley. 9 miles fell at Howell Canyon and 8 inches fell at Pomerelle Ski Resort.
• Heavy Snow in New Mexico, March 19 to 20, 20064 eventsSeveral periods of heavy snow produced amounts ranging from 4 to 6 inches at the lower elevations and heavier 10 to 14 inch amounts on the peaks across the north central mountains and the northeast plains.
• Winter Storm in South Dakota, March 19 to 21, 200610 eventsA prolonged period of snowfall spread into the area from the west and south, and continued for over a day. Snowfall totals were greatest in south central South Dakota, with 24 inches of snow reported at Burke and 23 inches at Geddes.
• Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 19 to 21, 2006$700,000 · 7 events
• Winter Storm in North Dakota, March 19, 20066 eventsThis was a prolonged winter weather event, beginning on Saturday, March 18, with light snow, and continuing well into Sunday afternoon, March 19, with heavy snow and high wind. Warning criteria was not met until the early morning hours of Sunday.
• Heavy Snow in New York, March 19, 2006$15,000 · 3 eventsA cold, northwest flow brought late-season lake effect snows to areas southeast of Lake Ontario. Six to eight inches of snow fell across parts of Wayne, Northern Cayuga and Oswego counties during the morning and early afternoon hours.
• Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 19 to 20, 200626 eventsA deep upper level low pressure system moved out of the desert southwest and then pushed slowly across Nebraska. Freezing drizzle developed across much of western and north central Nebraska on March 18th before turning to snow.
• Winter Storm in South Dakota, March 19 to 20, 20069 eventsHeavy snow of 7 to as much as 20 inches fell from the afternoon of the 18th until around noon on the 20th. The South Dakota Department of Public Safety issued a travel advisory for any travel but especially for the State Basketball Tournament travelers.
• Heavy Snow in Montana, March 19, 20064 eventsA winter storm brought heavy snow to a portion of North Central Montana on the 19th.
• Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 19 to 21, 20062 eventsSnowfall of 5 to 8 inches was accompanied by winds gusting to over 35 mph, causing near blizzard conditions in blowing snow. Schools and businesses were closed as the snowfall, low visibility, and drifting snow made travel very difficult.
• Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 19 to 21, 200628 eventsA prolonged period of snow, occasionally heavy, fell across much of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa from very early Sunday morning 3/19/06 into early Tuesday morning the 21st.
• Blizzard in Kansas, March 19 to 21, 200622 eventsA vigorous upper level storm system moved out of New Mexico late Saturday, March 18th, sending overrunning moisture northward into Kansas.
• Winter Storm in Iowa, March 20 to 21, 20066 eventsSnowfall of 5 to 8 inches was accompanied by winds gusting to over 35 mph, causing near blizzard conditions in blowing snow. Schools and businesses were closed as the snowfall, low visibility, and drifting snow made travel very difficult.
• Winter Storm in Colorado, March 20, 20067 eventsA winter storm system produced modest amounts of snow over portions of south central and southeast Colorado.
• Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 20 to 21, 2006$1.6 million · 11 events
• Winter Weather in Kansas, March 20 to 21, 200612 eventsLight snow lasted around 24 hours and began during the early morning hours of the 20th and continued until the early morning hours of the 21st. Snow was mixed with some sleet at times and created hazardous driving conditions.
• Heavy Snow in New Mexico, March 20, 20061 eventSix to eight inches of snow blanketed the Cloudcroft area in the southern Sacramento Mountains.
• Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 20 to 21, 2006$300,000 · 6 eventsA very strong storm system brought record snowfall to the region on the first day of spring. The snow began to accumulate the morning of the 19th and continued into the early morning hours of the 21st.
• Heavy Snow in Kansas, March 20, 200613 eventsA winter storm produced heavy snow across all of northwest Kansas, southwest Nebraska and east central Colorado. Minor blowing and drifting was also reported. Numerous traffic accidents were reported in the area with school, business and road closures common.
• Heavy Snow in Nebraska, March 20, 20063 eventsA winter storm produced heavy snow across all of northwest Kansas, southwest Nebraska and east central Colorado. Minor blowing and drifting was also reported. Numerous traffic accidents were reported in the area with school, business and road closures common.
• Heavy Snow in Colorado, March 20, 20063 eventsA winter storm produced heavy snow across all of northwest Kansas, southwest Nebraska and east central Colorado. Minor blowing and drifting was also reported. Numerous traffic accidents were reported in the area with school, business and road closures common.
• Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, March 20, 20063 eventsA vigorous low pressure system in the upper atmosphere tracked southeast across the southern Rockies and pulled much colder air down into the Oklahoma panhandle.
• Winter Weather in North Carolina, March 20, 200611 eventsA brief period of heavy sleet developed across portions of the central mountains, foothills, and western piedmont of North Carolina during the morning.
• Winter Storm in Kansas, March 20 to 21, 20067 eventsA powerful winter storm moved across the central plains on March 20th, producing 2 to 6 inches of snow across portions of central Kansas. The heaviest snow accumulations occurred across Russell and Barton counties.
• Winter Weather in North Carolina, March 20, 20064 eventsWintry precipitation overspread portions of the mountains during the late morning hours, beginning as a sleet/snow mix before a transition to rain occurred during the afternoon.
• Winter Storm in Kansas, March 20 to 21, 20066 eventsA major storm system brought snow to the region on the start of the spring season. The snow began by midday on the 20th and ended during the morning of the 21st.
• Winter Storm and Strong Wind in California, March 20 to 21, 2006$5,000 · 3 eventsNew snowfall in the Southern Sierra Nevada varied from 18" at Graveyard Meadow to 12" at Yosemite Valley and Huntington Lake. In the Tulare County Mountains, 8" fell at Lodgepole with 15" reported at Giant Forest, Quaking Aspen, and Big Meadows.
• Heavy Snow in Texas, March 20, 20061 eventA vigorous low pressure system in the upper atmosphere tracked southeast across the southern Rockies and pulled much colder air down into the northwest Texas panhandle.
• Winter Storm in Iowa, March 21, 20064 eventsA prolonged period of snow, sometimes heavy, fell across much of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa from Sunday morning 3/19/06 into early Tuesday morning the 21st. The snow was occasionally mixed with sleet, freezing drizzle and even light rain Sunday and Sunday night.
• Heavy Snow in Utah, March 20 to 21, 20064 eventsA high elevation snowstorm dropped as much as a foot fo snow across the central and northern Utah mountains.
• Winter Storm in Kansas, March 21, 20063 eventsA mix of freezing drizzle, sleet and snow began around 7 pm the evening of the 19th with a changeover to snow during the early morning hours of the 20th. With temperatures near freezing and wet ground from earlier rain...some melting of snow occurred during the storm.
• Winter Weather in Missouri, March 21, 2006$4,000 · 2 eventsAn early Spring winter storm moved from the central Plains into the Ohio Valley from 20 March to 21 March 2006.
• Winter Weather in Iowa, March 21, 2006$16,000 · 8 eventsAn early Spring winter storm moved from the central Plains into the Ohio Valley from 20 March to 21 March 2006.
• Winter Weather in Illinois, March 21, 2006$10,000 · 5 eventsAn early Spring winter storm moved from the central Plains into the Ohio Valley from 20 March to 21 March 2006.
• Heavy Snow in Iowa, March 21, 2006$50,000 · 10 eventsA large area of high pressure was centered over Nunavut Canada during the event with a ridge extending south into the central U.S. The high fed cool and dry air into the upper Midwest while a storm system took shape over the Rockies.
• Winter Storm in Kentucky, March 21, 200611 eventsA low pressure system tracked from the southern plains into the northern Tennessee and southern Ohio valleys during the overnight hours of Monday, March 20th, bringing a wintery mix to the Cincinnati metropolitan area.
• Blizzard and Winter Storm in Illinois, March 21, 200615 eventsA major winter storm impacted central Illinois on the 21st. A swath of heavy snow fell across much of the region with 6 to 10 inch snowfall totals common.
• Heavy Snow in Indiana, March 21, 20064 eventsA low pressure system sliding to the south of central Indiana brought a snowy start to Spring 2006. Most snowfall totals were less than six inches, although some areas did approach or exceed that mark.
• Winter Storm in Indiana, March 21, 20065 eventsA low pressure system tracked from the southern plains into the northern Tennessee and southern Ohio valleys during the overnight hours of Monday, March 20th. A wintery mix occurred over the Cincinnati metropolitan area with heaviest snowfall occurring in southeast Indiana.
• Winter Storm in Ohio, March 21, 20066 eventsA low pressure system tracked from the southern plains into the northern Tennessee and southern Ohio valleys during the overnight hours of Monday, March 20th. A wintery mix occurred over the Cincinnati metro area with heaviest snowfall occurring in southeast Indiana.
• Winter Weather in Virginia, March 21 to 22, 200611 eventsA weak upper level disturbance produced a quick one half inch to one and a half inches of snow across portions of central Virginia. The snow caused a few slippery roadways.
• Winter Storm in New Mexico, March 22, 20061 eventBursts of heavy snow up to 5 to 6 inches were reported along the Continental Divide from Chama to west of Cuba.
• Winter Weather in North Carolina, March 22 to 23, 200612 eventsSnow developed across the higher elevations of the North Carolina mountains during the evening and persisted through the overnight hours. By the morning of the 23rd, snow had accumulated to 1-3 inches, mainly in areas above 4000 feet.
• Winter Weather in Texas, March 23, 200612 eventsA strong upper level storm system propagated east over the Texas Panhandle on the 23rd and interacted with sufficiently cold air to result in light accumulating snows over the extreme southern panhandle and the northern South Plains.

The snowstorm of February 10 to 14, 2006The snowstorm of November 29 to December 3, 2006Snow nowEvery winter storm filed

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