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Below we lay out the 10 most costly winter storms since 1980, according to NOAA. A powerful and menacing winter storm moved into Southern California on Friday, dumping heaps of rain and snow and prompting severe weather . Two main periods of heavy snow expected are expected: late Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning & Wednesday afternoon through Thursday. Area schools were out for up to a week. Below we lay out the10 most costly winter storms since 1980, according to NOAA. Baltimore and Washington, DC, received between 15 and 30 inches of snow. 10 Day Weather - Boxford, MA As of 3:13 pm EDT Today 60/ 34 2% Sat 29 | Day 60 2% SSE 6 mph Abundant sunshine. The most recent of these big four extreme storms laid out a swath of snow fromthe Plains of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas to Mississippi to the Carolinas in the first week of 1988. All of this ice and snow led to more than 900,000 power outages for customers across the Midwest. Much of the greater Buffalo metro area picked up more than a half-inch of ice during the night from Feb. 22-23. 5 Storms. Twenty-five people were killed and about 500 were injured. Based on state weather records, here are some of the biggest winter storms in Wisconsin over the past 150 years or so: 1. Between 52 and 67 inches of snow covered the central Appalachians over Thanksgiving weekend in 1950. Ice accumulations of up to an inch were reported in central parts of the state. Extreme cold air spilled toward the cyclone, with temperatures reported below zero as far south as Georgia and Arkansas. The most severe blizzards in U.S. history have killed dozens, or even hundreds. Some residents in Mississippi were without power a month after the storm. Damage was estimated at $14 million in Dallas County alone. Satellite image from Mar. Okay, well, chances are none of us were around for the epic snowstorm of December 1890. One of the most prominent ice storm alleys in the U.S. is the interior Northeast, from northern Pennsylvania into central and upstate New York and New England. Olive largely began late on Monday, Feb. 20 as a plunge in the jet stream and accompanying low pressure system dipped into the Northwest and Northern Rockies. Southern and central Minnesota are expected to see the worst of the snow with up to 2 feet. This type of storm need not involve monumental snowfall: A ground blizzard, in which already-fallen snow is blown about by strong winds, can happen beneath sunny skies. Snowfall was deepest in Rahway, New Jersey, which received a whopping 32 inches. Welcome to The Weather Channel's official YouTube page. The 2009 storm probably would have garnered an even higher ranking had the RSI region encompassed the southern Plains, as well. Top 10: Worst Weather Years | 2017 was a brutal year of weather. Heavy snow continued to fall for nearly two days as the storm stalled near Long Island. Over 200,000 customers lost power in Louisville and it took as long as 10 days to get all customers back online. 12-14, 1993 Superstorm. Sign Up for the Morning Brief - a weekday newsletter infused with your forecast, fun facts, articles and bite-sized nuggets to energize your day. That said, billion-dollardisastersfrom winter storms are far less common than those caused by severe thunderstorms and tropical cyclones. Total damage was $1.4 billion in the U.S. plus another $3 billion in Canada. Over 400 people died, including 100 seafarers, and the damage totaled $20 million. In the days after Thanksgiving 1921, a four-day ice storm with accumulations over 3 inches in spots crippled parts of New England, including the city of Worcester. Finally, the Boha Cyclone is number ten on the top ten worst storms of all time. In-land winter storms have been named by The Weather Channel since the winter of 2012/13. I have yet to see a mature tree standing that was not severely damaged. More than 2 million lost power. A New Yorker makes her way down Seventh Avenue in Manhattan Jan. 8, 1996 during a blizzard that shut down airports and caused the mayor to declare a state of emergency. Steve Beshear described it as the biggest natural disaster the state had experienced in modern history. It was one of the worst ice storms to hit North Carolina. The storm was so damaging that the National Weather Service in both Paducah and Louisville, Kentucky, rated it as the worst weather event of the decade for their respective areas. Winds created drifts of to 20 feet! The Knickerbocker Storm battered the upper South and middle Atlantic United States for two days, dumping a record-breaking 28 inches of snow on Washington, D.C. View of Worcester, Massachusetts, after the November 1921 ice storm. Locations from Oklahoma to southernMissouri, southern Illinois, Kentucky, northern Tennessee, northeast Georgia and the Carolinas were impacted byfreezing rain, sleet and snow. 13 vintage photos of major US snowstorms that'll make you want to hibernate, 150 deaths and around $3 billion in damages, 6 holiday travel horror stories that will make you want to stay home, Over 200,000 homes and businesses lost power. Tofino 5. The timing couldn't have been worse, and the impact of this ice storm continues to this day in Atlanta. While the Perfect Storm was raking the Eastern Seaboard, a massive snowstorm was obliterating records in the upper Midwest in the days before and after Halloween 1991. You can certainly vouch for grumpy moods around Christmas 2000 in parts of the South. 67 N, 71 W Boxford, MA 10-Day Weather Forecast star_ratehome 52 East. after the November 1921 ice storm. For Kentucky, it was the largest power outage in history with 609,000 homes and businesses in the dark. #MNwx #WIwx pic.twitter.com/8iE4ByoC05. How to prepare your home before a blizzard and freezing temperatures. The Big Island 7. A number have been powerful and deadly enough to become among the most memorable United States weather disasters. Mount Washington (New Hampshire) 2. Both the NESIS and RSI placed Nemo in Category 3 territory, since it missed several large metro areas including Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Parts of the Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham metro areas. Pedestrians make their way along an icy street outside the Georgia Dome before the start of Super Bowl XXXIV between the St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans In Atlanta, Georgia. Strong winds swept through much of the Southwest during the day. High winds from a line of thunderstorms that developed from southwest Louisiana to central Mississippi and northern?Alabama combined with the glazing of ice to result in widespread tree and powerline damage. Rapid ice accumulations from Jan. 7-9, 1998, downed millions of trees and caused widespread destruction of power lines and power poles. Dan Littlefield of Campe Ellis attempts to clear snow from his car Sunday morning, March 14, 1993. At least 30,000 power poles were downed or snapped in Arkansas. In Mississippi, 3.7 million acres of commercial forests were damaged severely. Take control of your data. We trudge back in time to revisit some of the worst blizzards in U.S. history. The Weather Channel reported that the winter storm could make travel "extremely difficult, if not impossible" in Wyoming, South Dakota, southern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin as winds create blizzard conditions and frigid air becomes "life-threatening" for stranded motorists. From February 14 to 19, the Great Blizzard of 2003 covered the East Coast in several feet of snow. Record snow and incredible cold: Jan. 17-19, 1994. Kansas: One person died in a crash, the Kansas Highway Patrol told CNN on Friday. The weather service said Mountain High, one of the closest ski resorts to Los Angeles, received an eye-popping 7-and-three-quarter feet of snow during the last storm, with more possible this week. Outside of the crippling ice, this storm system also brought flooding to portions of the South, lower-Mississippi Valley and Upstate New York. Downed trees and limbs caused widespread damage to homes, businesses and vehicles. Dallas Area Storms Cause Power Transformer To Explode, Cold Or Flu? The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued myriad winter storm watches, warnings and advisories for areas in the Rocky Mountains to the upper Midwest. It hit Bangladesh in 1970, taking 500,000 lives. Bedford, Michigan reported 0.70 inches of ice and Franksville, Wisconsin, (south of Milwaukee) picked up 0.75 inches. The Great Plains 4. Winter storm naming in the United States has been used sporadically since the mid-1700s in various ways to describe historical winter storms. On the milder side of the storm, heavy rain contributed to river flooding. That is the first time I've seen this. The storm also induced severe coastal flooding and erosion. On the Atlantic seaboard, hurricane-force winds stirred up mammoth swells, and more than 15 homes were swept out to sea on the eastern shore of Long Island. "Bomb cyclone" is a meteorological term that describes a hurricane-like storm that develops when a cyclone undergoes "bombogenesis." Beshear called in National Guard troops to help clear roads and go door to door to check on families in the western part of the state (the worst-hit area). How Winter Fashion Has Changed in 100 Years (PHOTOS), Eerie Vintage Photos of People Battling the Flu, Democratic Republic of the Congo | Franais, State of Vatican City (Holy See) | Italiano. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. March 1881. The Weather Channel began naming winter storms 7 years ago. The storm affected at least 26 U.S. states and much of eastern Canada, reaching as far south as Jacksonville, Florida. Americans in the northern United States will face a severe winter storm starting Monday night in the northern Rocky Mountains and continuing for several days. In Northern Mississippi alone, over 750,000 people were without electricity and drinking water for several days. The March 1888 blizzard paralyzed the economy and infrastructure of New York City and killed an estimated 200 residents, mostly those caught without shelter as the temperature dropped. Adjusted for inflation, this storm today would've caused over a quarter million dollars in 2013. Roads from the teams' hotel to the Georgia Dome were too hazardous. Punishing wind chills as low as minus-50 degrees and up to a foot of powdery snow overwhelmed the region; where the Great Lakes were near enough to add moisture to the air, as many as three feet of snow accumulated. "So the Winter Storm Severity Index for this week has the Twin Cities in the Extreme Impacts category. For truly bizarre storms, the November 1950 storm is my personal favorite, topping any other storms in these particular states, according to the RSI. Since 1980, NOAA has documented 16 winter storms with a damage cost of a billion dollars or more. Policeman, rescue workers, and onlookers stand amid the wreckage of the Knickerbocker Theatre, Washington DC, January 29, 1922, during the Knickerbocker Storm. The storm claimed 24 lives in Kentucky and another 18 in Arkansas from a combination of traffic accidents, hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning. Of course, since the data only goes back to 1900, there is one glaring omission. Many Americans who missed out on a white Christmas got their fill of snow when a blizzard carved a path of disruption down the East Coast, leaving thousands of travelers across the country stranded as airlines grounded more than 7,000 flights. Sign up for the Morning Brief email newsletter to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists. A half million were still without power three days after the storm. One of the most prominent ice storm alleys in the U.S. is the interior Northeast, from northern Pennsylvania, central and upstate New York into New England. The heavy icing caused widespread damage to trees, power lines and power poles. Compounding the mess were high winds, turning streets into ice rinks, a challenge to anyone on foot. Six inches of ice accumulated in parts of northwest Texas on Jan. 22-24, 1940, according to Weather Underground's Christopher Burt. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Parts of the Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham metro areas were paralyzed for days. The Blizzard of '96 was the snowstorm of record in both Philadelphia and Newark and set the state snowfall record in Virginia (48 inches at Big Meadows), snarling travel and shutting down schools. Which City Is the Worst for Fall Allergies This Year? as well as other partner offers and accept our, Herbert A. French/Buyenlarge/Getty Images, Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images. 1. A severe storm with "extreme impacts" is expected to hit the Twin Cities starting Tuesday. The flat landscape, just east of the Rockies, is ideal for powdery, windswept snow north of developing storms and along powerful cold fronts; a small handful of blizzards occur in this part of the country each year. The awning of a grocery store damaged from the weight of the snow during the Great Blizzard of 1888 in New York City. Nearly 80 percent of Maine's population lost electrical service. In his book, Extreme Weather, Christopher Burt cited a paper in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, stating, "Ice on the side of any dense, unbroken evergreen tree 50 feet high and on average 20 feet wide would have weighed five tons" due to the weight of accumulated ice. Downed trees and limbs caused widespread damage to homes, businesses and vehicles. Jan. 5-8, 2014 Midwest, Northeast and Southeast: $2.3 billion, 7. The Blizzard of 1888 (March 11-14, 1888) The blizzard by which all others are measured. Around 2,000 flights were canceled, and 20 people died, according to CNN. This mammoth storm spread a 10-inch-plus snow swath from the Ohio Valley to the entire Northeast urban corridor, affectingover 56 million in the Northeast alone. The second winter storm disrupted practice the Saturday before the Super Bowl. Top Ten Weather Destinations (9/11/2016) 10. Heavy snow impacted the interior Northeast and parts of New England. RSI Cat. That goes to show just how epic this week really could be. Freezing rain accreted heavily across deep southern Michigan, southern Wisconsin and far northern Illinois outside of Chicago. Record Snow and Incredible Cold January 17 - 19, 1994 An intense winter storm brought copious amounts of snowfall to the region Monday the 17th, with all of Kentucky and southern Indiana receiving several inches of snow. This week, a major snowstorm stretching from Tennessee to Maineis slamming the Northeast, with 12 to 20 inches of snow predicted in parts of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Florida Keys Hurricane Year: 1935 Location: Florida. At its height, a total of 1.3 million residents were left without power in multiple states. More than 80,000 utility poles were pulled down by the weight of the ice. Totaldamage from the winter weather and floodingwas $4.9 billion. Snow nears the rooftop of a home in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Dec. 27, 2009. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Many storms that meet blizzard criteria, though, are powerful behemoths with very low pressure that pull in massive quantities of air. Residents of Duluth, Minn. dig out following the record-setting Halloween Blizzard of 1991. At least 600,000 customers were without power. A low-pressure area intensified while sliding north along a stalled Mid-Atlantic front, and sustained winds above 50 mph pulled frigid air into the cities of the Northeast. In Arkansas, Mel Coleman, CEO of North Arkansas Electric Cooperative described the scene,"In all of my years I have never seen anything that compares to the damage this storm has caused. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. The storm system wrapped up and wind intensified across the Rockies and the northern Plains on Feb. 22. Stay warm: If youre going to be outside for extended periods on frigid days, its important to bundle up. Read more: 13 vintage photos of major US snowstorms that'll make you want to hibernate. CNN's Amanda Musa . Burketown, Australia 8. The snow fell for a week straight, with areas from western Pennsylvania southward deep into West Virginia blanketed . At the time of the surface map shown above, Nov. 26, 1950,coldair was blowing in from thesouthover much the interior Northeast. The snow fall, according to the Weather Channel, is the second largest snowfall . New York was pummeled by 22 inches of snow, closing down the Brooklyn Bridge, while other areas received 40 to 50 inches. Areas in the storm's path could see anywhere between 6 inches and 2 feet of snow accompanied by dangerous winds, with meteorologists expressing concern about some of the areas most likely to be impacted. In March 1888, the Great Blizzard of 1888 hit the Atlantic coast. Kentucky's governor, Steve Beshear, described it as the biggest natural disaster the state has experienced in modern history. 9. While not technically a . Throughout human history, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis and o. The most severe flooding was in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee where more than 700 homes were damaged or destroyed. March 1-3, 2018 Winter Storm Riley: $2.2 billion, 8. The snow really ramped up as an arctic cold front swept southward through the Rockies, Great Basin and Sierra on Feb. 21. In Arkansas, Mel Coleman, CEO of North Arkansas Electric Cooperative described the scene:"In all of my years I have never seen anything that compares to the damage this storm has caused. But by the evening of January 28, the storm was winding down, and several hundred people ventured out to catch a showing of the silent film Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford at the Knickerbocker Theatre, the capitals largest and most modern movie house. Snowmageddon was sandwiched between two other blizzards at the beginning and end of February, prolonging the cleanup process. Barbara Alper/Getty Images. In Mississippi, 3.7 million acres of commercial forests were severely damaged. The heaviest accumulations were between Memphis, Tenn, Nashville, Tenn. and Lexington, Ky. Nashville was buried under?eight inches of ice and snow by the time everything was finished on Feb. 1. Winter Storm Olive was a cross-country storm that deposited heavy snow from the Northwest and Rockies to the Great Lakes and New England, and dropped thick ice across the southern Great Lakes. The snow really ramped up as an arctic cold front swept southward through the Rockies, Great Basin and Sierra on Feb. 21. Often known as the Storm of the Century, the 1993 blizzard saw a low-pressure system strengthen rapidly while racing up the East Coast. Nashville recorded a low temperature of 13 degrees below zeroon Feb. 2. Known as the Cleveland Superbomb, the epic storm killed more than 70 people and shut down infrastructure across the region. The most recent billion dollar winter storm was Winter Storm Riley in March 2018. The worst destruction was a major mudslide at La Conchita in Ventura County, which destroyed 15 homes and killed 10 people. It started in typical fashion, as cold air from Canada pushed down and collided with relatively warm winds from the Gulf of Mexico. In early February 2013,Winter Storm Nemoclobbered New England with several feet of snow and high winds, knocking out power, burying cars and collapsing roofs. Warm air crusaded northward from the Lower Mississippi Valley into the southern Great Lakes causing precipitation to turn to a mess of freezing rain, sleet and even some heavy rain as far north as Chicago during the afternoon hours. At the time, one Arkansas official called it the most destructive ice storm he'd seen to the state's electrical utility infrastructure. With a central pressure usually found in Category 3 hurricanes, the storm spawned tornadoes and left coastal flooding, crippling snow, and bone-chilling cold in its wake. Remember, the calculations take into account only snowfall and population, not necessarily severity of impact and, of course, not wind. The "extreme impacts" classification had one meteorologist concerned. RSI Cat. A number have been powerful and deadly enough to become. A crippling, devastating ice storm hit portions of upstate New York, northern Vermont, northern New Hampshire, much of Maine and southeast Canada. In Colorado, the 2019 bomb cyclone grounded more than 1,300 flights, left more than 84,000 Colorado residents without power, andkilled at least one person. The most destructive ice storms feature heavy ice accumulation, sometimes on the order of several inches, that, when combined with strong winds, bring down trees and power lines, plunge hundreds of thousands into the dark sometimes for several days. A band of strong winds caused blowing dust in Albuquerque, which turned into a snow squall that swept through the city during the daylight hours. Did you know there is a system of rating winter storms, somewhat similar to theSaffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scaleand theEnhanced-Fujita scalefor tornadoes? The storm, which had the third lowest pressure recorded in the United States outside of a hurricane, pulled exceptionally cold air into the Midwest and the Ohio Valley with winds that gusted above 80 mph. As the storm moves across the states, sleet and freezing rain are expected to develop. It makes no difference in the NESIS and RSI scales whether a snowstorm occurred on a Sunday in January or during peak Christmas travel. Duluth's 36.9-inch snow total was a Minnesota state record. Later that day, hurricane-force winds and whiteout conditions took them by surprise. Four hundred people were killed either in the storm or in the cold aftermath. Little snow fell during the first major blizzard of 1888, which struck exactly two months before the crippling March storm in the Northeast. For perspective, accumulations of more than a half inch are considered crippling. Published Feb. 24, 2023 Updated Feb. 25, 2023 8:31 AM PT. Heavy sleet accumulations across much of southern Illinois and parts of southeastern Missouri caused dozens of roof collapses. More than 120 winters have come and gone since the so-called Great White Hurricane, but this whopper of a storm still lives in infamy. Title Description Type Air Time; AIRING NOW! But that didnt stop them from fallingand with a vengeance. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM. After the collapse of the theater's roof, the city's building codes were updated to require steel I-beams and better supports. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. The Blizzard of '96 was the snowstorm of record in both Philadelphia and Newark and set the state snowfall record in Virginia (48 inches at Big Meadows), snarling travel and shutting down schools and businesses for days. accumulations of more than a half inch are considered crippling. For the first time, governors could declare a state of emergency before a single snowflake fell. The heavy ice coatings caused widespread damage to trees, power lines and power poles. Washington, DC, was buried beneath 28 inches of snow in the Knickerbocker Storm of 1922. In Upstate New York and portions of Connecticut, temperatures were even colder, and 45 to 60 inches of snow accumulated. We recognize our responsibility to use data and technology for good. Here are five of the worst to have struck the country. Heres what to do if you get stuck in a winter storm plus some winter essentials to keep in your car. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! >Cherrydale Baptist Church. It remains the most costly winter storm to strike the United States since at least 1980. David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe/Getty Images. This 1988 snowstorm was considered the heaviest snowstorm of the 20th century for the state of Arkansas. Of the more than 310 weather and climate events with damages exceeding $1 billion since 1980, this storm is the country's second-most costly winter storm to date. Massive snowdrifts trapped families in their homes and workers in their offices. Sign Up for the Morning Brief - a weekday newsletter infused with your forecast, fun facts, articles and bite-sized nuggets to energize your day. Two main rounds of snow. Roofs collapsed, ships sank, millions lost power, every major airport on the East Coast shut down, and hundreds of Appalachian hikers were stranded as portions of 15 states saw more than 20 inches of snow. Late on Thursday, Nov. 23, Olive moved through the Northeast with generally lighter snow and ice. Atlanta has not hosted another Super Bowl since 2000. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM. The storm immobilized New York, Boston and other major cities, blocking roads and wiping out telephone, telegraph and rail service for several days. The storm was also accompanied by frigid temperatures. 10. With some lake-effect enhancement, parts of Upper Michigan picked up more than a foot of snow, including 22 inches in Mount Arvon, or northwest of Marquette, Michigan. Winter storms can unleash an array of hazardous weather, causing destruction that sometimes amounts to billions of dollars in damage. A steep change in pressure over a relatively short distance, because of a high-pressure zone over Southeast Canada, allowed extreme wind to develop, with gusts in excess of 100 mph in Newark; Hartford, Conn.; and Concord, N.H. All of that wind pulled plentiful moisture into the low, leading to flooding rain, destructive icing, and, along the spine of the Appalachians, more than 60 inches of snow. pic.twitter.com/EJTNli2oxO. Causing 300 deaths and $6 to $10 billion in damages, the Storm of the Century lived up to the hype. 25 people were killed and about 500 were injured. The forecast at The Weather Channel calls for a new weekly program, Top Ten, that takes stock of the world's biggest weather-related occurrences, TVLine has learned exclusively.. Premiering . Prepare your home: If theres a snow storm coming your way, heres how to get your home ready for extreme cold. T his system has been named Winter Storm Quest by The Weather Channel. Over 1 inch of accumulated ice in many locations from northeast Texas into southeast Oklahoma, Arkansas and northern Louisiana. A more than 100-mile wide swath from Louisiana to West Virginia was affected by a severe ice storm from Jan. 29-Feb. 2 in 1951. But the few inches of fine, powdery snow that did accumulate were whipped by wind into one of Americas most infamous natural disasters, the Schoolhouse Blizzard. Nine Ways To Tell The Difference. On Christmas Eve 2009, blizzard warnings stretched from northwest Texas to the Canadian border. The Category 5 storm caused at least 160 deaths. 6. Some residents in Mississippi were without power a month after the storm. However, due to the lack of population affected, Euclid only ranked a category-one storm on the RSI. Outside of the crippling ice, this storm system also brought flooding to portions of the South, Lower Mississippi Valley and upstate New York. Temperatures and timing will be key to determining how much rain, snow and ice accumulate. Sixteen lives were lost in the U.S. and an additional 28 deaths related to the ice storm were reported in Canada. The disaster resulted in more than 400 deaths, including 200 in New York City alone. The Northeast also typically sees a blizzard or two per year, particularly portions bordering the Atlantic Ocean. How Winter Fashion Has Changed in 100 Years (PHOTOS), Eerie Vintage Photos of People Battling the Flu, Democratic Republic of the Congo | Franais, State of Vatican City (Holy See) | Italiano, the Jersey Shore to southeastern New England, Jan. 5-8, 2014 Midwest, Northeast and Southeast. Total damage from this event was estimated to be $3.2 billion. An early-season winter storm struck many states from Dec. 4-5 in 2002. Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Traverse City, Michigan, also could see heavy snow. Those staggering numbers might have been far worse, however, were it not for significant advances in U.S. weather forecasting not long before the mighty blizzard struck. The Storm of the Century caused $5.5 billion in damages with massive snowfalls from Maine all the way down to Florida (parts of which received six inches). At least 600,000 customers were without power. All dollar amounts are adjusted for inflation. In the decade that followed, partly in response to the 1888 storm and the massive gridlock it wrought, New York and Boston broke ground on the countrys first underground subway systems. The Feb. 8-13, 1994 ice storm caused extensive damage in the South totaling $5.2 billion. Nine Ways To Tell The Difference. The Weather Companys primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. The snowstorm in Washington, DC, on February 5-6, 2010 was dubbed "Snowmageddon," with 17.8 inches of snow. Copyright TWC Product and Technology LLC 2014, 2023. Natural disasters can be more powerful and destructive than all other forces on the planet. It was Kentucky's largest power outage in history at the time, with 609,000 homes and businesses in the dark. A warm-up and moderate to heavy rainfollowed after the storm, triggering snowmelt which caused widespread and deadly flooding. to Ohio to Tennessee). Pummeling many regions from midday on December 26 through the following afternoon, the post-holiday storm featured a rare meteorological event known as thundersnow, in which thunder and lighting are accompanied by heavy snow rather than rain.