November 26 – December 3, 2019 North American blizzard
The November 26 - December 3, 2019 American Blizzard was a major winter storm from the Rocky Mountains to the Northeast as well as a record breaking windstorm along the West Coast (In California and Oregon in particular). It occurred the week of American Thanksgiving, hampering travel for millions across the United States.
Part of the 2019-20 North American winter | |
 The bomb cyclone over the rockies as another system impacts the Eastern U.S. | |
| Type | Extratropical, Pacific Northwest windstorm, bomb cyclone, winter storm, blizzard |
|---|---|
| Formed | November 26, 2019 |
| Dissipated | December 3, 2019 (moved out to sea) |
| Lowest pressure | 973.4 mb (28.74 inHg) |
| Highest gust | 106 mph (171 km/h) at Cape Blanco, Oregon; >60 mph recorded in 11 states |
| Power outages | >80,000 |
| Casualties | 7 |
| Areas affected | Pacific Northwest, Southwestern United States, Midwestern United States, Northeastern United States |
Moving ashore on the night of November 26 near the Oregon/California border, the storm produced a record low pressure reading of 973.4 millibars in Crescent City, California. From November 27–30, the low merged with the subtropical jet as it tracked slowly eastward across the Rockies, Plains and Midwest. The combination of cold air, moisture and high winds produced a wide swath of blizzard conditions from Colorado through western South Dakota, including the Denver area. In Rapid City, 14.5 inches (370 mm) of snow fell on the 30th, breaking the one-day snowfall record for November. In Duluth, it was the city's heaviest snowstorm in ten years. As the first major winter storm of the season in the northeast, it dumped 22.6 inches (570 mm) of snow in Albany, where it was the heaviest snowfall since the 1993 Superstorm. Widespread totals in excess of 20 inches (510 mm) occurred in the Albany Metro, Southern New Hampshire and Northwestern Massachusetts with a regional peak of 36 inches (910 mm) of snow in New Ipswich, New Hampshire. The storm finally moved out to sea December 3. It was given the name (Winter storm) Ezekiel by The Weather Channel.[1]
Meterological history
Entering the United States late on November 26 as a powerful bomb cyclone/Pacific Northwest windstorm, it made landfall in Crescent City, California with a minimum pressure of 973.4 mb, unofficial breaking state records. Over the following three days it merged with the subtropical jet stream as it trekked slowly eastward over the Rockies, High Plains and Midwest. On December 1–2 it entered the Northeast as the first major winter storm of the season, moving out to sea by December 3.
Impacts
Southwest
Whilst southern Oregon and northern California received wind gusts exceeding 100 mph, southern California and Arizona experienced widespread heavy rain, severe thunderstorms and flash flooding. Although much of the L.A. Basin only received between ½ and ¾ of an inch of rain, local totals amounted to 2.17 inches of rain in Long Beach. Following the recent drought and wildfires, the ground had reduced ability to absorb rain water and so the NWS warned of the possibility of flash floods and debris flows. Flash floods with up to two feet of standing water occurred in San Diego. Hail fell in Grotela in association with a heavier burst of rain (likely a thunderstorm) that moved through the area. Freezing levels fell below 3,000 feet, meaning that high elevation suburbs of Los Angeles like Palmdale and Victorville received accumulating snow. The snow was disruptive to Thanksgiving travelers as it weighed down and snapped tree limbs and closed Interstate 5 at Parker Road and the Grapevine. Over a foot of snow fell in the mountains of northern Arizona and several tornado warnings for issued for the central portion of the state. A flooded Tonto Creek swept away a vehicle containing three children.[2]
Rocky Mountains and High Plains
Denver saw an unusually snowy November partially thanks to this storm alone. It dumped nearly twice the average monthly snowfall total (7.5 inches) on the city. Some parts of the foothills accumulated in excess of 40 inches of snow.[3] In the central and northern Plains freezing drizzle fell on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, transitioning to snow, and then heavy snow, overnight. On the following day, November 30, winds increased, gusting from 45 to 60 mph at times, creating blizzard conditions. In Rapid City, South Dakota, 14.5 and 15.9 inches of snow fell, breaking the one-day and two-day November snowfall records respectively. In the northern Black Hills, a local mountain range, over two feet of snow fell. One person was killed in a rollover crash near Cavour. The individual, as well as their passenger, weren't wearing seat-belts. A crash on I-15 near Willard, Utah also proved to be fatal.[4]
Midwest
In Duluth, Minnesota, 21.7 inches of snow fell at the airport, where wind gusts frequently exceeded 35 mph, meeting blizzard criteria.[5] The snowfall accumulation was the ninth-heaviest on record and the most in ten years. Near Patton, Missouri, two boys, ages 5 and 8, and the vehicle they were riding in, were swept away. A 48-year-old man died in a separate incident near Sedgewickville, Missouri.[6]
Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
In Albany, 22.6 inches of snow fell, making the storm the eighth and fourth-worst overall and for December, respectively and the most intense since the 1993 Superstorm.[7] Seven New York counties placed on a 'State of emergency' and Boston public schools closed in the storm's aftermath, although school boards closed in a dozen counties from North Carolina to Maine. In the NYC metro/tri-state area, 80,000 lost power and 370 flights were cancelled. Pennsylvania transportation officials reduced the speed limit to 45 mph on Interstates 80, 81, 84, 476 and 380. Several other states also put either travel restrictions or speed-limit reductions into effect. Snowfall closed portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Highway 441 in North Carolina and Virginia.[8]
Snowfall totals
From the storm's landfall in California to its exit from the Northeast, it produced snowfall in at least 30 states:[9]
- Arizona: 30 inches at Arizona Snowbowl
- California: 49 inches near Cedar Grove
- Colorado: 15 inches at Wolf Creek Pass
- Connecticut: 18 inches at North Granby
- Idaho: 20 inches estimated at Sun Valley Resort
- Maine: 15.5 inches at Kittery
- Massachusetts: 28 inches in Peru
- Michigan: 28 inches at Gould City
- Minnesota: 25.1 inches near Carlton
- Montana: 14 inches in Choteau
- Nebraska: 14 inches in Chadron
- Nevada: 18 inches at Mt. Rose Summit
- New Hampshire: 36 inches near New Ipswich
- New Jersey: 14.3 inches in Highland Lakes
- New Mexico: 16.6 inches near Black Lake
- New York: 28 inches in Fultonville
- North Carolina: 6 inches near Santeetlah
- North Dakota: 16 inches in Fredonia
- Oregon: 15 inches estimated near Rock Creek
- Pennsylvania: 14 inches in Susquehanna
- Rhode Island: 11.8 inches in Chepachet
- South Dakota: 30 inches in Lead
- Tennessee: 4.5 inches in Mount LeConte
- Utah: 48 inches at Snowbasin Resort
- Vermont: 26 inches in Woodford
- Virginia: 4 inches near Jewell Ridge
- Washington: 23 inches near Wenatchee
- West Virginia: 7 inches near Parcoal
- Wisconsin: 31 inches near Washburn
- Wyoming: 30 inches in Muddy Gap
Naming
The Winter Storm was dubbed Winter Storm Ezekiel by the Weather Channel.
References
- "Cross-Country Winter Storm Brought Snow, Ice and Wind Thanksgiving Week Into Early December (RECAP)". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
- "Thanksgiving storm blankets Southern California mountains, turns deadly in Arizona".
- "The Ten Biggest Colorado Weather Stories in 2019".
- "November 29–30 Blizzard and Winter Storm".
- "NWS Duluth twitter".
- "NWS Duluth twitter".
- "Twitter". mobile.twitter.com. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
- "Winter Storm Leaves Tens of Thousands without Power in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania; Boston Schools Closed". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
- "Cross-Country Winter Storm Brought Snow, Ice and Wind Thanksgiving Week Into Early December (RECAP)". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 2020-01-10.