The snowstorm of March 30 to April 3, 2010

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

91

Deaths

1

Injuries

3

Damage

$36 million

Episodes

21

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 Washington, March 28 to 30, 20101 eventA very moist late season storm brought heavy snow to the Cascades.
• Heavy Snow in Oregon, March 28 to 30, 20102 eventsA very moist late season storm brought heavy snow to the Cascades.
• Heavy Snow in Idaho, March 29 to 30, 20104 eventsHeavy snowfall fell mainly above 7,000 feet. Amounts over 1 foot in the Central Mountains were common with some sites going over 2 feet.
• Winter Storm in Montana, March 29 to 31, 20104 eventsA late winter storm moved across southwest Montana dropping heavy snow. Accumulations in excess of 6 inches were reported.
• Winter Storm in California, March 29 to 30, 20102 eventsA winter storm brought heavy snow to the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
• Winter Storm and High Wind in Utah, March 30 to 31, 201089 kt wind · 15 eventsA strong, cold, and moist Pacific storm capped off the month of March in Utah. Strong winds were felt across much of the state on the 30th ahead of the storm, with large amounts of blowing dust reported in some areas.
• Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, March 30, 20103 injured · 2 eventsThe combination of an increase in precipitation intensity and the passage of an upper level low pressure system caused the rain to change to snow over the higher terrain of the Poconos during the afternoon of the 30th.
• Blizzard in Alaska, March 30 to 31, 20104 eventsAn intense North Pacific storm moved along the Aleutian Islands producing strong wind and snow resulting in blizzard conditions from the central Aleutians to the Alaska Peninsula, north to the Pribilof Islands.
• Winter Storm in Utah, April 1 to 2, 20106 eventsA strong, cold, and moist Pacific storm that started in March across Utah continued into April. The storm entered the state on the 31st, bringing widespread heavy snow, particularly in the higher terrain. Note that this episode began in March.
• Heavy Snow in Wyoming, April 1 to 2, 20101 eventAn early Spring storm system moved across the Northern Rockies bringing widespread precipitation to the Billings Forecast Area. The precipitation began as a mix of rain and snow but quickly changed to all snow during the early morning hours across the Big Horn Mountains.
• Winter Storm in South Dakota, April 1 to 2, 20104 eventsA strong spring storm produced rain and snow across the area. Heavy snow fell across far northwestern South Dakota and the northern Black Hills. Snowfall ranged from six to 12 inches, with as much as 20 inches over the higher elevations of the northern Black Hills.
• Heavy Snow in Oregon, April 2 to 3, 20104 eventsA small but moist late season storm brought heavy snowfall to the Cascades and Cascades Foothills.
• Heavy Snow in South Dakota, April 2, 20102 eventsA band of heavy snow set up across Corson and Dewey counties during the early morning hours of April 2nd. Along with with heavy wet snow, northwest winds gusting up to 40 mph developed. By the time the snow ended in the late morning hours, 6 to 8 inches of snow had fallen.
• Winter Storm and Winter Weather in North Dakota, April 2, 2010$36 million · 12 eventsA significant and damaging early spring storm severely impacted much of south central North Dakota on Good Friday, April 2nd. Widespread damages to electrical utilities and nearly impossible travel conditions were common.
• Heavy Snow in Washington, April 2 to 3, 20102 eventsA small but moist late season storm brought heavy snowfall to the Cascades and Cascades Foothills.
• Heavy Snow in Idaho, April 2 to 3, 20101 eventLess than warning criteria snowfall occurred in the Upper Snake River Highlands causing road closures on Saturday morning April 3rd. 8 inches of snow fell in Ashton and 8.5 inches fell in Island Park.
• Winter Storm in California, April 2 to 3, 20102 eventsA winter storm brought up to two feet of snow to the highest elevations.
• Winter Storm in Utah, April 2 to 3, 20101 eventA Pacific storm system brought valley rain and mountain snow to much of northern and central Utah. The heaviest snow fell in the Wasatch Mountains north of Interstate 80.
• Heavy Snow in California, April 4 to 6, 20103 eventsA winter storm produced heavy snow throughout the higher elevations of northwestern California.
• Winter Storm in California, April 4 to 5, 20106 eventsA winter storm brought snow down into the Sierra Nevada foothills.
• Winter Storm and Avalanche in Utah, April 4 to 6, 20101 death · 62 kt wind · 13 eventsA major winter storm took a three day period to move through northern Utah, bringing heavy wet snow to the area. Though the snowfall remained primarily in northern Utah, southern Utah received strong gusty winds as this storm moved through the region.

The snowstorm of March 22 to 25, 2010The snowstorm of April 4 to 7, 2010Snow nowEvery winter storm filed

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