WunderBlog Archive » Weather Extremes
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Impressive Storm System Finally Exits U.S.
The large and complex winter storm system designated ‘Gemini” by The Weather Channel has loosened its grip over the U.S. following three days of wild weather. Most impressive were the rain totals and warmth that proceeded the storms frontal passage across the central and eastern portions of the country. Here is a brief summary of some of the highlights.
Rainfall
A plume of moisture ahead of the storm’s cold front reached near record values so far as precipitable content is concerned.
On December 21st a weather balloon launched from the southwest Ohio town of Wilmington showed that the moisture in the atmosphere had reached a December record maximum (since 1951). NOAA.
This was manifested by some extraordinary rainfall totals. Flooding killed five in Kentucky where Paducah experienced its greatest December calendar day rainfall on record (see chart below). Here were the top figures by state:
10.24” INDIANA: Willimas 1.9 N
9.57” ILLINOIS: Belknap 11.1 ESE
7.92” ARKANSAS: Carlisle 3.3 W
7.60” ALABAMA: Excel 2.5 ESE
6.56” TENNESSEE: Dyersburg 4.5 W
6.25” NORTH CAROLINA: Lake Towaway 3.2 ENE
5.76” SOUTH CAROLINA: Greenwood 5 W
5.61” GEORGIA: McDonough and Woolsey
5.54” MISSOURI: Dexter 2.3 W
5.37” KENTUCKY: Paducah
5.12” OHIO: Castine
4.73” NEW YORK: Tonawanda 2.6 ESE
3.39” MISSISSIPPI: 3.39” Pass Christian 5 N
3.25” VIRGINIA: Meadows of Dan 4.5 SW
2.99” PENNSYLVANIA: North East 1.2 WNW
2.92” LOUSISIANA: Shreveport
2.67” VERMONT: Derby Center 1.8 NW
Freezing Rain
The most affected region was southern Ontario and Quebec, Canada where ice accumulations up to 2” were reported. Toronto was especially hard hit with as many as 250,000 homes/businesses without power at one point on Sunday and an additional 225,000 in other parts of southeastern Canada.
Ice accumulations in the Toronto, Ontario area crippled the city’s infrastructure over the weekend. Photo by Daniel Chris Ascano.
Five fatalities in Canada have so far been attributed to the storm. In the U.S. 475,000 customers lost power in Michigan, upstate New York, and northern Vermont. Icy weather In Oklahoma resulted in three traffic fatalities. The deepest ice accumulations reported were 1.25” in Canton, Potsdam, and Rensselaer Falls, New York; 1.00” in Jeffersonville, Vermont; 1.00” in Cherryfield and Wesley, Maine; and 0.75” in various locations of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Michigan.
Snowfall
Snowfall from the storm was not particularly impressive with the exception of areas around Lake Superior in Wisconsin that experienced lake effect enhanced accumulations. Most impressive of these is the 31.5” at Ashland, Wisconsin since Sunday morning. State snowfall maximums (including Great Lake snow belt areas) have been the following:
31.5” WISCONSIN: Ashland (outside the lake-effect areas the maximum was 9.3” at Milwaukee WSO.
15.5” KANSAS Larned
15.0” MINNESTOA: Poplar
12.9” MICHIGAN Gaylord
11.5” TEXAS Dumas
10.0” MAINE Knowles Corner
8.5” IOWA: Osceola
8.0” ILLINOIS Rockford
7.0” MISSOURI: St. Joseph
6.3” NEBRASKA: Auburn 5 ESE
4.0” OKLAHOAM: Eva
Tornadoes
There were two fatalities reported as a result of five confirmed tornado events in Arkansas and Mississippi on December 21st. One fatality was associated with an EF-2 twister near Hughes, Arkansas and another fatality near Rena Lara, Mississippi, also an EF-2. In addition at least four injuries occurred at the locations.
Record Warmth
Along with the rainfall, the most impressive feature of the storm system was the amazing warm temperatures that preceded the frontal passage on December 21-22. From Florida to New York daily and, in some cases, monthly heat records were broken. There are too many to list all, so here is a selection:
DECEMBER MONTHLY RECORDS
Norfolk, Virginia: 81° on 12/22 (old record 80° on 3 occasions)
Augusta, Georgia: 83° on 12/21 (old 82° on 8 occasions)
Savannah, Georgia: 83° on 12/22 (ties 5 other occasions)
Jacksonville, Florida: 84° on 1/22 (ties 9 other occasions—including twice before this month)
SOME OF THE DAILY RECORDS SET ON DECEMBER 21 or 22
63° Binghamton, NY
70 ° Harrisburg, PA (set at 6 a.m.)
82° Tampa, FL
73° Knoxville, TN (set at 4 a.m.)
72° Chattanooga, TN
73° Bristol, TN
64° Canton, OH (set at midnight )
72° Pittsburgh, PA
70° New York City, Central Park,
71° Newark, NJ
64° Hartford, CT
63° Worcester, MA
72° Washington, DC
64° Providence, RI
86° Orlando, FL
71° Atlanta, GA
78° Raleigh, NC
68° Philadelphia, PA
76° Richmond, VA
71° Atlantic City, NJ
67° Wilmington, DE
One aspect that was interesting was how cold air was trapped in the valleys of New York as warm air just aloft caused temperatures to vary buy as much as 35° over an elevation of just 500-1000’.
The wunderground.com map of temperature observations in the Albany, New York area at about 2:30 p.m. on Sunday December 22nd. Weather Underground.
Christopher C. Burt
Weather Historian
The large and complex winter storm system designated ‘Gemini” by The Weather Channel has loosened its grip over the U.S. following three days of wild weather. Most impressive were the rain totals and warmth that proceeded the storms frontal passage across the central and eastern portions of the country. Here is a brief summary of some of the highlights.
Rainfall
A plume of moisture ahead of the storm’s cold front reached near record values so far as precipitable content is concerned.
On December 21st a weather balloon launched from the southwest Ohio town of Wilmington showed that the moisture in the atmosphere had reached a December record maximum (since 1951). NOAA.
This was manifested by some extraordinary rainfall totals. Flooding killed five in Kentucky where Paducah experienced its greatest December calendar day rainfall on record (see chart below). Here were the top figures by state:
10.24” INDIANA: Willimas 1.9 N
9.57” ILLINOIS: Belknap 11.1 ESE
7.92” ARKANSAS: Carlisle 3.3 W
7.60” ALABAMA: Excel 2.5 ESE
6.56” TENNESSEE: Dyersburg 4.5 W
6.25” NORTH CAROLINA: Lake Towaway 3.2 ENE
5.76” SOUTH CAROLINA: Greenwood 5 W
5.61” GEORGIA: McDonough and Woolsey
5.54” MISSOURI: Dexter 2.3 W
5.37” KENTUCKY: Paducah
5.12” OHIO: Castine
4.73” NEW YORK: Tonawanda 2.6 ESE
3.39” MISSISSIPPI: 3.39” Pass Christian 5 N
3.25” VIRGINIA: Meadows of Dan 4.5 SW
2.99” PENNSYLVANIA: North East 1.2 WNW
2.92” LOUSISIANA: Shreveport
2.67” VERMONT: Derby Center 1.8 NW
Freezing Rain
The most affected region was southern Ontario and Quebec, Canada where ice accumulations up to 2” were reported. Toronto was especially hard hit with as many as 250,000 homes/businesses without power at one point on Sunday and an additional 225,000 in other parts of southeastern Canada.
Ice accumulations in the Toronto, Ontario area crippled the city’s infrastructure over the weekend. Photo by Daniel Chris Ascano.
Five fatalities in Canada have so far been attributed to the storm. In the U.S. 475,000 customers lost power in Michigan, upstate New York, and northern Vermont. Icy weather In Oklahoma resulted in three traffic fatalities. The deepest ice accumulations reported were 1.25” in Canton, Potsdam, and Rensselaer Falls, New York; 1.00” in Jeffersonville, Vermont; 1.00” in Cherryfield and Wesley, Maine; and 0.75” in various locations of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Michigan.
Snowfall
Snowfall from the storm was not particularly impressive with the exception of areas around Lake Superior in Wisconsin that experienced lake effect enhanced accumulations. Most impressive of these is the 31.5” at Ashland, Wisconsin since Sunday morning. State snowfall maximums (including Great Lake snow belt areas) have been the following:
31.5” WISCONSIN: Ashland (outside the lake-effect areas the maximum was 9.3” at Milwaukee WSO.
15.5” KANSAS Larned
15.0” MINNESTOA: Poplar
12.9” MICHIGAN Gaylord
11.5” TEXAS Dumas
10.0” MAINE Knowles Corner
8.5” IOWA: Osceola
8.0” ILLINOIS Rockford
7.0” MISSOURI: St. Joseph
6.3” NEBRASKA: Auburn 5 ESE
4.0” OKLAHOAM: Eva
Tornadoes
There were two fatalities reported as a result of five confirmed tornado events in Arkansas and Mississippi on December 21st. One fatality was associated with an EF-2 twister near Hughes, Arkansas and another fatality near Rena Lara, Mississippi, also an EF-2. In addition at least four injuries occurred at the locations.
Record Warmth
Along with the rainfall, the most impressive feature of the storm system was the amazing warm temperatures that preceded the frontal passage on December 21-22. From Florida to New York daily and, in some cases, monthly heat records were broken. There are too many to list all, so here is a selection:
DECEMBER MONTHLY RECORDS
Norfolk, Virginia: 81° on 12/22 (old record 80° on 3 occasions)
Augusta, Georgia: 83° on 12/21 (old 82° on 8 occasions)
Savannah, Georgia: 83° on 12/22 (ties 5 other occasions)
Jacksonville, Florida: 84° on 1/22 (ties 9 other occasions—including twice before this month)
SOME OF THE DAILY RECORDS SET ON DECEMBER 21 or 22
63° Binghamton, NY
70 ° Harrisburg, PA (set at 6 a.m.)
82° Tampa, FL
73° Knoxville, TN (set at 4 a.m.)
72° Chattanooga, TN
73° Bristol, TN
64° Canton, OH (set at midnight )
72° Pittsburgh, PA
70° New York City, Central Park,
71° Newark, NJ
64° Hartford, CT
63° Worcester, MA
72° Washington, DC
64° Providence, RI
86° Orlando, FL
71° Atlanta, GA
78° Raleigh, NC
68° Philadelphia, PA
76° Richmond, VA
71° Atlantic City, NJ
67° Wilmington, DE
One aspect that was interesting was how cold air was trapped in the valleys of New York as warm air just aloft caused temperatures to vary buy as much as 35° over an elevation of just 500-1000’.
The wunderground.com map of temperature observations in the Albany, New York area at about 2:30 p.m. on Sunday December 22nd. Weather Underground.
Christopher C. Burt
Weather Historian
The views of the author are his/her own and do not necessarily represent the position of The Weather Company or its parent, IBM.