Winter Storm Delivered a Bit of Everything to Much of the U.S.

Posted: January 18, 2022 4:08 pm

A winter storm that gripped much of the eastern half of the U.S. is finally over, however, it will be some time before everyone is able to dig out from what it left behind.

Storm Brings a Little of Everything

The large storm system wreaked havoc for several days, starting in the Upper Plains before moving through the Midwest, the Southeast, and up through the interior Northeast. Along the way, this monster storm delivered a little bit of everything to those in its path. Millions of Americans experienced weather events ranging from snow measured in feet, ice storms, and even an EF2 tornado out of this system. At least two deaths are being blamed on this weather system while thousands of people lost power due to the heavy ice in the Southeast.

Major Snowfall Event

For many people, the snow was the major storyline of this system. Des Moines, Iowa was one of the first places to see significant snow out of this storm. The airport recorded 14.3 inches of snow to close out the week.

The snow continued to track to the south in the overnight hours on Friday and into Saturday. Heavy snow blanketed parts of Arkansas with some areas measuring over 5 inches of the white stuff by mid-day Saturday. Valley Springs, Arkansas reported a whopping 14 inches of snow. Areas as far south as Dallas reported light snow flurries.

Additional southern towns and cities that saw measurable snowfall included Leesburg, Mississippi with 9 inches of snow and Clarksville, Georgia seeing over 5 inches. The higher elevations saw the most snowfall.

Snow in the Interior Northeast

It is no surprise that the interior Northeast got hit particularly hard with the snow. Buffalo, New York broke the daily snowfall record when it saw 17.6 inches fall on Monday. This measurement shattered the past record of 8.3 inches set in 1958.

The city of Pittsburgh also picked up its first significant snowfall since December of 2020. 9.1 inches were recorded in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Harborcreek, Pennsylvania reported 22 inches of accumulation on Monday.

Up in Kenmore, New York, a whopping 22.8 inches of snow was recorded. Other areas that were hit with extraordinary snowfall totals included areas near the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania and up into New Hampshire.

Atlanta Still Without Measurable Snowfall

Atlanta missed out on the measurable snowfall once again. While snowflakes fell from the sky in small amounts, it was not enough to crack the standard of 0.10 of an inch for it to be considered a measurable amount.

The lack of measurable snowfall now stretches to 1,460 days for Atlanta. This marks the second-longest streak of no accumulating snow on record. The city will need to reach February 4 without measurable snowfall to break the all-time record.

Tornadoes, Flooding, and Strong Winds Also Reported

This weather maker was more than just snow. Across the Southeast, it was tornadoes that were the major concern. An EF2 tornado touched down near Fort Myers, Florida on Sunday morning. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Tampa, the twister was packing winds of up to 118 mph. Over 100 homes were damaged by the tornado as it stretched 1.8 miles long. There were also a slew of smaller tornadoes that touched down on the East Coast of Florida on Sunday.

Coastal flooding was an issue in some parts of the Eastern Seaboard as heavy rain fell and winds whipped up. The south shore of Long Island recorded wind speeds of up to 69 mph on Monday. Norwalk, Connecticut saw a gust hit over 60 mph.

Residents in Milford, Connecticut were alerted to move to higher ground after flood sirens sounded on Monday morning. A handful of the state’s coastal homes were flooded as waves came crashing on to the shore. The town of Niantic saw the worst of this flooding.

The Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire recorded multiple wind gusts of over 140 mph. The 6,288-foot mountain experienced blizzard-like conditions as heavy snow accompanied the strong winds.

While this storm is over for now, a blast of Arctic air and the potential of a new winter weather maker by the end of the week will keep residents of the Northeast on high alert in the coming days. Winter is just getting started in this part of the country.

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