The snowstorm of March 9 to 12, 2000

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

274

Deaths

1

Injuries

9

Damage

$638,000

Episodes

44

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 California, March 7 to 9, 20001 eventMore than a foot of snow accumulated above 7000 feet.
• Heavy Snow in California, March 7 to 9, 20001 eventUp to 13" of snow fell above 3000 feet.
• Blizzard and Winter Storm in South Dakota, March 7 to 8, 200015 eventsA winter storm system brought blizzard conditions to areas generally north of Interstate 90, with lesser amounts of snow and lower wind speeds south of the interstate. The northern Black Hills also had heavy snowfall.
• Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Wyoming, March 7 to 8, 20005 eventsA winter storm system brought snow and strong winds to the region. On the plains, 2 to 6 inches of snow were reported with northwest winds 25 to 30 mph gusting to 50 mph. In the Bear Lodge Mountains, 5 to 12 inches of snow fell.
• Heavy Snow in California, March 7 to 8, 20003 eventsAnother Pacific storm brought more snow to the mountains of Southern California. Snowfall totals ranged from 8 to 16 inches across the mountains. The snow forced the closure of Route 2, near Big Tujunga, for several hours.
• Winter Storm in California, March 8, 20002 eventsMammoth Mountain received 27" of new snow...Lodgepole 16"... with lesser amounts on the Yosemite Valley floor (4") and Heavy snowfall reported on Walker Pass by the California Highway Patrol.
• Winter Storm in North Dakota, March 8, 200014 eventsA strong low pressure system over Colorado moved into Nebraska on the 7th of March then tracked east..northeast tosouthern Minnesota on the 8th.
• Blizzard in North Dakota, March 8, 20007 events
• Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 8, 2000$25,000 · 8 eventsStrong and gusty winds combined with snow to create near blizzard-like conditions over most of the Nebraska panhandle. Many roads were closed, including a 100 mile stretch of Interstate 80.
• Ice Storm in North Dakota, March 8, 20008 eventsA narrow band of freezing precipitation fell across southeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. Gusty north winds also combined with the ice to make travel difficult.
• Blizzard in South Dakota, March 8, 20006 eventsHigh winds of 30 to 50 mph combined with 3 to 7 inches of snow caused widespread blizzard conditions across north central South Dakota from the late morning to the late afternoon hours. Many schools were closed early in the day. Travel was also significantly disrupted.
• Ice Storm in Minnesota, March 8, 20005 eventsA thin band of freezing precipitation fell across parts of northwest and west central Minnesota. Gusty north winds accompanied the precipitation.
• Heavy Snow in Utah, March 8 to 10, 20002 eventsAnother storm brought more of the "Greatest Snow on Earth" to the Northern Utah mountains, with 1-3 feet being reported. Alta had the most, with 35 inches of snow.
• Winter Storm in South Dakota, March 8, 20002 eventsHeavy snow of 6 to 7 inches combined with strong winds of 25 to 40 mph to generate low visibilities and difficult driving conditions across western Edmunds and far northwest Brown counties through much of the afternoon hours. Also, some schools were closed early.
• Blizzard in Minnesota, March 8, 20005 eventsAs colder air filtered south out of Canada, the freezing precipitation changed over to snow. With the wind already gusty from the north, blizzard conditions quickly developed. People travelling in this area ran into problems quickly, some ending up in the ditch.
• Blizzard in North Dakota, March 8, 20005 eventsAs cold air filtered south out of Canada, the freezing precipitation changed over to snow. With the gusty north winds, blizzard conditions quickly developed. Many travellers along Interstates 29 and 94 encountered whiteout conditions, some ending up in the ditch.
• Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, March 8 to 9, 20002 eventsHeavy lake effect snow resulted in 10 inches at Hurley, 9 inches in Butternut, and 8 inches in Glidden.
• Winter Storm in Michigan, March 9, 20005 eventsAfter a week of record high temperatures, winter made a dramatic come back. A storm system that developed over the plains tracked from Iowa across Wisconsin and Lower Michigan Wednesday night and Thursday.
• Winter Storm in Wisconsin, March 9, 20004 eventsFour to eight inches of snow fell over north central Wisconsin during the morning of March 9th as strong low pressure moved through east central Wisconsin. Blowing snow from strong winds behind the low dropped visibilities to near zero at times.
• Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, March 10 to 11, 20004 eventsTwo to 4 inches of heavy, wet snow fell across portions of north central Oklahoma the late afternoon and evening of the 10th. Blackwell received 3.5 inches and also experienced scattered power outages; 3 inches fell in Newkirk, 2.5 inches in Medford, and 2 inches in Perry.
• Heavy Snow in Kansas, March 10 to 11, 2000$250,000 · 4 eventsDuring the night of the 10th and 11th, a late season winter storm produced a narrow swath of 6 to 8 inch snowfalls across extreme southeast Kansas. Possessing a high water content, the heavy snow caused widespread damage to trees, power lines and about 30 power poles.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, March 11, 20001 death · 9 injured · 16 eventsHeavy snowfall of 6 to 10 inches, accompanied by blowing and drifting, occurred in parts of central and southeast Illinois from the morning into the early evening of March 11, 2000. Several weather related traffic accidents resulted in nine serious injuries and one fatality.
• Winter Storm in Missouri, March 11, 200012 eventsA late season winter storm dropped from 4 to 10 inches of snow across central and east central Missouri. Thunderstorms occurred with the snow causing very heavy snow witth near white-out conditions at times. Following are snow depths reported by county. Jefferson 4, St.
• Heavy Snow in Missouri, March 11, 20003 eventsA late winter storm tracking across southern sections of Missouri dropped heavy snowfall in portions of west-central and central Missouri. The snow began late on the evening of March 10, with accumulations reaching 6 inches in the pre-dawn hours of the 11th.
• Winter Storm in Illinois, March 11, 200014 eventsA late season snow fell across southwest Illinois with snow depths ranging from 3 to 10 inches. Thunderstorms occurred with the snow causing the wide range of depths reported.
• Heavy Snow in Illinois, March 11, 20003 eventsA developing low pressure system moved from the southern Plains northeast across western Kentucky. Just enough cold air was in place along the north side of the storm track for snow to fall.
• Heavy Snow in Missouri, March 11, 20001 eventA developing low pressure system moved from the southern Plains northeast across western Kentucky. Just enough cold air was in place along the north side of the storm track for snow to fall.
• Heavy Snow in Indiana, March 11, 200022 eventsA strong low pressure system moved across the Ohio Valley and combined with plentiful moisture in the atmosphere to produce a widespread band of heavy snow across central Indiana. Snowfall totals were 6-8 inches across this area.
• Winter Storm in Ohio, March 11 to 12, 2000$315,000 · 12 eventsLow pressure moved up the Ohio Valley spreading snow and some freezing precipitation across the region. The heaviest snow fell near Lake Erie with light freezing rain and snow further south.
• Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, March 11 to 12, 200011 eventsAn area of low pressure that developed over the southeastern states on the 11th moved northeastward along the Atlantic Coast on the 12th bringing heavy snow followed by mixed precipitation to parts of the state.
• Winter Storm in Pennsylvania, March 11 to 12, 2000$30,000 · 2 eventsLow pressure moved up the Ohio Valley spreading snow across the region. Six to seven inches of snow fell from the afternoon of the 11th through midday on the 12th.
• Heavy Snow in Ohio, March 11, 20004 eventsA late season storm system brought a widespread area of light snow to the the Miami Valley. Some areas of snow became convective dumping much heavier snow in narrow bands. Five to six inch accumulations occurred within these heavier bands.
• Heavy Snow in Indiana, March 11, 20001 eventA late season winter storm brought widespread light snow to the Whitewater Valley region. Within the area of light snow, convective bands of heavier snow developed dumping locally 5 to 6 inches of snow across the region.
• Heavy Snow in Maine, March 11 to 12, 200017 eventsAn area of low pressure that developed over the southeastern states on the 11th moved northeastward along the Atlantic Coast on the 12th bringing heavy snow followed by mixed precipitation to most of the state. From 6 to 10 inches of snow fell across most of western Maine.
• Heavy Snow and Heavy Rain in Massachusetts, March 11 to 12, 20006 eventsLow pressure moving north from the Appalachians brought heavy snow to portions of northwest Massachusetts, before an eventual changeover to rain, and heavy rain farther to the south and east.
• Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, March 11, 20002 eventsLow pressure moving north from the Appalachians brought a heavy wet snow to southern New Hampshire. Snowfall amounts of 5 to 9 inches were common throughout Cheshire and Hillsborough Counties.
• Heavy Snow in Indiana, March 11 to 12, 20009 events...Synoptic and mesoscale conditions on March 11th...A strong shortwave trough was located over the central plains the evening of the 10th with surface low pressure developing over the lower Mississippi valley. As this system moved northeast on the 11th...
• Heavy Snow in Ohio, March 11 to 12, 20008 events...Synoptic and mesoscale conditions on March 11th...A strong shortwave trough was located over the central plains the evening of the 10th with surface low pressure developing over the lower Mississippi valley. As this system moved northeast on the 11th...
• Winter Weather in New York, March 11 to 12, 2000$7,000 · 7 eventsA low pressure system over the Appalachians on Saturday, March 11th, moved northeast across southern New England on Sunday, March 12th. Snowfall across the region was 3 to 6 inches...with the heaviest snowfall in the Adirondacks.
• Winter Weather in Vermont, March 11 to 12, 2000$5,000 · 5 eventsA low pressure system over the Appalachians on Saturday, March 11th, moved northeast across southern New England on Sunday, March 12th. Snowfall across north central and northeast Vermont was generally 3 to 6 inches.
• Winter Weather in Vermont, March 11 to 12, 2000$1,000 · 1 eventA low pressure system over the Appalachians on Saturday, March 11th, moved northeast across southern New England on Sunday, March 12th. Snowfall across the county was around 6 inches. Thetford Center reported 5.5 inches while Brookfield reported 6 inches.
• Winter Storm in Vermont, March 11 to 12, 2000$5,000 · 1 eventA low pressure system over the Appalachians on Saturday, March 11th, moved northeast across southern New England on Sunday, March 12th. Snowfall across the county ranged from 7 to 12 inches. Woodstock reported 7 inches while Chester Vermont reported 12 inches.
• Winter Storm in Maine, March 11 to 12, 20007 eventsLow pressure tracking northeastward along the Maine coast brought locally heavy snows to the region. Total storm accumulations of 7 to 10 inches were reported. Lesser accumulations of 3 to 6 inches fell across Downeast areas where the snow mixed with sleet and freezing rain.
• Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, March 12 to 13, 20002 eventsA small lee side trough of low pressure formed just north of the Brooks Range early on March 12, and interacted with moderate highpressure in the arctic basin to cause high wind and blizzard conditions at Point Lay.

The snowstorm of March 7 to 10, 2000The snowstorm of March 13 to 15, 2000Snow nowEvery winter storm filed

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