The snowstorm of September 28 to 30, 2019
A snowstorm NOAA ranked in 1 region on its Regional Snowfall Index, strongest in the Northern Rockies and Plains.
What the offices filed during it
Winter weather episodes east of the Rockies from the day before the storm began to the day after it ended, colored by kind.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The storm by region
Each region’s thresholds are its own, so the same depth of snow counts for more in the South than in the Northeast.
| Region | Index | Category | Area with snow (sq mi) | People under snow | Above the top threshold (sq mi) | People above it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Rockies and Plains | 2.97 | Category 1, Notable | 112,398 | 851,099 | 2,652 | 10,118 |
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.
The toll the offices filed
- Events
- 20
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 2
- Damage
- None recorded
- Episodes
- 2
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.
Episode by episode
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Montana, September 28 to 30, 2019A potent upper level closed low and associated trough began to dig southeast along the British Columbia Coast during the morning hours of Friday, September 27th, 2019, reaching over Vancouver Island during the evening hours on Friday.
- Winter Weather in Washington, September 29 to 30, 2019A powerful Arctic front swept through the Inland Northwest late in the month, bringing an stretch of record cold and even some wintry precipitation. At least one fatality occurred as a result of heavy snow in one of the mountain passes of central Washington north of Ellensburg.
More
The snowstorm of April 9 to 12, 2019The snowstorm of November 25 to 28, 2019Snow nowEvery winter storm filed
Sources
NOAA NCEI Regional Snowfall Index, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.