December 21–24, 2004 North American winter storm

December 21–24, 2004 North American winter storm
Category 4 "Crippling" (RSI: 11.31)
An infrared satellite image of the storm during its most significant impact, taken just after midnight on December 23, 2004
Type	Winter storm Ice storm
Formed	December 21, 2004
Dissipated	December 24, 2004
Lowest pressure	984 mbar (hPa)
Maximum snowfall or ice accretion	59 inches (73.7 cm)
Damage	$900 million
Areas affected	Midwest United States and Ontario, Canada

An historic snowstorm struck the Ohio Valley of the United States, as well as Ontario in Canada, on December 22 and December 23 and is not the same storm that led to snow in Texas on Christmas Eve. It lasted roughly 30 hours, and brought snowfall amounts up to 37 inches (73.7 cm) to portions of the Midwestern United States. Damages from the storm totaled US$900 million (2004 dollars). A total of 18 died during the storm, one from Canada, mainly due to car accidents.

Synoptic history

An arctic cold front moved through the Midwest, bringing cold air into the region and a brief 4-10 hour burst of snowfall on December 22. Thereafter, 3–6 hours of freezing rain and sleet fell. The second bout of wintry precipitation, which lasted about 13 hours, was caused by a surface cyclone in the southern stream of the Westerlies which moved northeast from the coastal bend of Texas early on December 22, moving across northern Louisiana, southeast Arkansas, northwest Mississippi, then across central Tennessee, through western West Virginia early on December 23, eastern Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Effects

Over 20 inches (51 cm) of snow fell across portions of southern Illinois and central Ohio. A band of freezing rain and sleet led to ice and sleet accumulations across western Tennessee, central Kentucky, as well as southern and eastern Ohio. Traffic was paralyzed across the region by plane, train, and automobile, during this winter storm. Interstate and state highways turned into parking lots as over 100,000 vehicle accidents were caused by the weather. Roofs of buildings caved in under the weight of the ice and snow, especially in areas which measured over 10 inches of snow. Almost a million residences saw power outages and numerous phone lines were downed. Four days of sub-freezing temperatures during and after the storm hampered recovery efforts. States of emergency were declared in Kentucky, Illinois, and Ohio.

United States

Arkansas

High winds and icing were the main impact in Arkansas. About 11,000 customers lost power for 2–3 days. Six perished during the storm statewide.

Tennessee

About 23,000 customers were without power during the storm.

Kentucky

A snowfall record was set at Paducah, when 14 inches (36 cm) was measured. A major ice storm struck central portions of the state. After the storm, a record low was set on Christmas Day when the temperature fell to −8 °F (−22 °C) at Paducah. A total of 168,000 customers experienced power failure. Two perished statewide.

Illinois

It was the most significant snowstorm on record for southern sections of the state. Snowfall records were set at Carbondale (12 inches (30 cm)), McLeansboro (14 inches (36 cm)), and Carmi (18 inches (46 cm)). Interstate 64 was blocked for three days.

Indiana

The scene at the National Weather Service Office in Indianapolis on the morning of December 23, 2004

Snowfall records were set in many locations across the Hoosier state. The records above 20 inches (51 cm) included Evansville (22.3 inches (57 cm)), Seymour (29 inches (74 cm)), North Vernon (26 inches (66 cm)), Brownstown (30 inches (76 cm)), Medora (39 inches (99 cm)), Crothersville (37 inches (94 cm)), and Greensburg (24 inches (61 cm)). After the storm, a record low was set at Evansville on Christmas Day when the temperature fell to −11 °F (−24 °C). This combination of factors closed Interstate 64 for three days and Interstate 94 for over two days (reopening Christmas Eve). Five perished statewide.

Ohio

Ice buildup in Columbus, Ohio

Snowfall records were set at Dayton (16 inches (41 cm)), Greenfield (24 inches (61 cm)), and Mansfield (23 inches (58 cm)). A major ice storm impacted southeast and eastern sections of the state. After the storm, a record low was set on Christmas Day when the temperature fell to −17 °F (−27 °C). A total of 678,000 customers went without power. Four perished statewide.^[1]

Comair computer system crash

The storm was particularly notable for causing the regional carrier Comair's computer system to malfunction in light of thousands of flights becoming grounded due to the storm. The antequated software was only able to accept so many scheduling changes per month, and thus shut down, grounding the airline completely.

Canada

Ontario

Precipitation was mainly in the form of heavy snow across southeast sections of the province. Hundreds of flights were cancelled from Toronto's Pearson Airport. Hundreds of car accidents resulted from the storm. One person died.

Quebec

A wintry mix of precipitation fell across southern Quebec.^[2]

References

↑ Stanley A. Changnon and David Changnon. The Pre-Christmas 2004 Snowstorm Disaster in the Ohio Valley. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
↑ CBC News. Ontario storm causes travel havoc. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.

External links

Major snow and ice events in the United States

Pre-1900	1717 (Feb 27–Mar 7) 1886 (Jan 6–10) 1888 (Jan 12–13, Mar 11–14) 1899 (Feb 11–14)

20th century	1905 (Nov 27–28) 1913 (Nov 6–11) 1920 (Mar 15–18) 1922 (Jan 27–28) 1930 (Mar 25–26) 1931 (Mar 7–8) 1939 (Jan 30) 1940 (Nov 10–12) 1947 (Dec 25–26) 1950 (Nov 24–30) 1952 (Feb 17–18) 1956 (Mar 18–19) 1958 (Feb 14–18, Mar 18–21) 1960 (Dec 11–12) 1961 (Jan 11–13) 1966 (Jan 27–31) 1967 (Jan 26–27) 1969 (Feb 8–10, Mar 5–8, Dec 25–28) 1975 (Jan 9–12) 1976 (Feb 2) 1977 (Jan 28–Feb 1) 1978 (Jan 19–21, Jan 25–27, Feb 5–7 1979 (Jan 13–14) 1982 (Apr 6–8) 1983 (Feb 10–12) 1991 (Oct 31–Nov 3) 1992 (Dec 10–12) 1993 (Mar 12–15) 1995 (Feb 2–6) 1996 (Jan 6–10) 1997 (Mar 31–Apr 1, Oct 24–26) 1998 (Jan 4–10) 1999 (Jan 2–4, Jan 14–15)

2000s	2000 (Jan 18–30, Dec 27–31) 2002 (Jan 29–31, Feb 7, Dec 4–5) 2003 (Feb 14–19, Dec 5–8) 2004 (Dec 21–24, Dec 24–28) 2005 (Jan 20–23, Dec 14–16) 2006 (Feb 11–13, Oct 11–13, Nov 20–24, Nov 26–Dec 1, Dec 20–Jan 1) 2007 (Jan 11–24, Feb 12–20, Apr 13–17, Nov 29–Dec 5, Dec 8–18) 2008 (Jan 3–11, Mar 6–10, Dec 11–12, Dec 19–25) 2009 (Jan 25–30, Oct 13–20)

2009–10	2009 (Dec 16–20, Dec 22–28) 2010 (Feb 1–6, Feb 7–11, Feb 24–27, Mar 12–16)

2010–11	2010 (Oct 23–28, Dec 5–29) 2011 (Jan 8–13, Jan 24–28, Jan 29–Feb 3)

2011–12	2011 (Oct 28–Nov 1, Nov 8–10) 2012 (Jan 16–20)

2012–13	2012 (Oct 29–Nov 2, Nov 7–10, Dec 17–22, Dec 25–28) 2013 (Feb 7–18, Feb 22–Mar 5, Mar 1–10, Mar 18–24)

2013–14	2013 (Oct 3–5, Nov 25–28, Dec 19–23) 2014 (Dec 30, 2013–Jan 6, Jan 20–22, Jan 27–31, Feb 11–14, Feb 19–21, Feb 18–Apr 10)

2014–15	2014 (Nov 8–13, Nov 8–23, Nov 13–21, Dec 9–11, Dec 10–27) 2015 (Jan 23–30, Jan 31–Feb 2, Feb 12–17, Feb 20–Mar 1, Mar 1–6, Mar 20, May 9–11)

2015–16	2015 (Nov 24–27, Dec 26–30) 2016 (Jan 21–24, Jan 29–Feb 7, Feb 7–10, Feb 13–14, Feb 14–17, Feb 23–24, Mar 8–11, Mar 21–25, Apr 3–11, Apr 15–23)

2016–17	2016 (N/A)

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