February 2007 North America Winter Storm

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Valentine's Day Storm of 2007

Snow cover in Monkton, Vermont

Storm type:

Winter storm

Formed:

February 12, 2007

Dissipated:

February 20, 2007

Maximum
amount¹:

48 in (1,200 mm) Stowe, Vermont

Lowest
pressure:

970 mb (28.64 inHg)

Damages:

unknown

Fatalities:

Areas affected:

Midwestern and Eastern North America, Gulf States

¹Maximum snowfall or ice accretion

The February 2007 North America Winter Storm (otherwise referred to as the Valentine's Day Blizzard or Valentine's Day Storm) was a massive winter storm that affected most of the eastern half of North America, starting on February 12, 2007 and peaking on Valentine's Day, February 14. The storm produced heavy snowfalls across the midwestern United States from Nebraska to Ohio and produced similar conditions across parts of the northeastern United States, and into Canada in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. Significant sleet and freezing rain fell across the southern Ohio Valley and affected portions of the east coast of the United States, including the cities of Boston, Baltimore, Washington D.C., New York City and Philadelphia.

The southern portion of the storm produced severe thunderstorms with numerous tornadoes reported. One tornado hit a subdivision of New Orleans that was still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the region in August 2005. In total, this storm system was responsible for 37 deaths across 13 U.S. states and Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec. The NOAA classified the storm as a Category 3 "Major" storm.^[1] The National Weather Service has determined that this storm was one of the three largest snowstorms to hit the inland areas of the northeastern United States since 1940.^[2]

1 Prior to the storm
2 Storm track
3 Impact
4 Precipitation by region
5 Gulf States severe weather outbreak
- 5.1 Confirmed tornadoes
6 Gallery
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Prior to the storm

In sharp contrast to the mostly mild weather in the first few weeks of winter, the eastern half of the continent was under the influence of cold temperatures. Numerous areas had substantial snowfall deficits before this storm. After several weak Alberta Clippers crossed the eastern half of the continent and brought occasional light snowfalls, a large dip in the Northern branch of the jet stream favored a more active pattern, which, as it connected with the southern branch, led to the development of the storm.

Previously, portions of the Great Lakes were hit by a significant lake effect snow event which dumped incredible amounts of snow over portions of central New York. Several areas received over 115 inches (over 2.5 m) of snow in a ten-day period just before the large winter storm as northwesterly winds and unfrozen lake surfaces due to the early winter warm weather favored the heavy snowfall. Several areas across Michigan and Ontario also received significant amounts of snow with locally 1 meter (3.3 ft) of snow east of Georgian Bay in Ontario.^[3]

[edit] Storm track

Snow coverage in Shaler Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh.

From February 10 to 11, a low pressure system developed near the Rockies and moved towards the Great Plains of the United States. It later tracked across the Ohio Valley and merged with a new coastal low. It then moved over eastern Quebec on Valentine's Day before exiting northeastern Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador on February 16. It dumped over six inches (15 cm) of snow across numerous areas from Iowa to New Brunswick, including major cities such as Akron, Detroit, Champaign-Urbana, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Springfield, Peoria, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Dayton, Toledo, Cincinnati, London, Hamilton, the Niagara Region, Toronto, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Trois-Rivieres, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Rochester, Windsor, Syracuse and Albany. This also includes areas such as Northern Oswego County, New York, which received historic lake effect snowfall amounts in the week prior to the storm.

In addition to the general snowfall, snow squalls coming from Lake Ontario gave local amounts of over 2 feet (600 mm) of snow near the Hamilton and Niagara regions, where 1 foot (0.30 m) of snow had already fallen on February 13.^[4]

Heavy ice amounts fell for locations along Interstate 95 from Maine to Virginia and west towards southern Ohio and Indiana. Ice was expected for parts of the Canadian Maritimes.

[edit] Impact

[edit] States of emergency and mobilizations

A NASA satellite image of the Great Lakes states after the snowfall

A NASA satellite image of the New England region coated in snow after the storm

Maine Governor John Baldacci declared a state of emergency in order to assure heating oil for residents of the state, which was one of the hardest hit areas by the snowstorm.

Due to the additional heavy snowfall, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer called in the National Guard to assist in the snow removal efforts in the areas hit by the lake effect snow storm.^[5]

Schenectady, Schoharie, Montgomery, Washington, Essex, Warren and Clinton counties in New York state, which were affected by extensive snowfall from the storm, had declared a state of emergency while several other counties and towns declared snow emergencies.^[6]^[7]

Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine declared a statewide emergency in advance of the storm, directing state agencies to help in the response to and recovery from the storm.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell declared a statewide disaster emergency in response to the poor road conditions and ensuing highway closings.^[8]

[edit] Precipitation received

The storm left a mark on states like Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, which received heavy snow for over 24 hours, accumulating upwards of 18 inches (457.2 mm) in some areas. Many parts of Northern and Northeastern Indiana received between 12 and 20 inches (300–510 mm), and blizzard conditions for an extendend period of time. The heavy snow and blizzard conditions caused roads to close, and schools and businesses to close for three days. In Chicago, O'Hare International Airport received 10.2 inches (259 mm) of snow, while Midway Airport received 12.0 inches (300 mm). The Midway total was the largest amount of snow received in the month of February for one midnight-to-midnight day since records began to be kept in 1928.^[9]

Twelve to sixteen inches (300–410 mm) of snowfall and blizzard conditions in central Illinois canceled classes at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for two days, the first time classes had been canceled since 1979.^[10]^[11]

Removing ice from the steps in front of the Harrisburg Transportation Center

Areas of the Appalachian Mountains in northern New England and Quebec received accumulations of over 16 inches (410 mm) with local amount exceeding 36 inches (910 mm) in parts of Vermont and 42 inches (1,100 mm) in the Adirondacks in New York state. Also in New York state, in the hills and valleys South of Syracuse, NY, snowfall depths ranged from 24 to 45 inches (610–1,100 mm). Snowfall rates of 5 to 6 inches (130–150 mm) per hour occurred in areas of western Schoharie County, NY with total storm accumulations in this county approaching three feet. The City of Hamilton and the Niagara region, at their highest elevations, received just over 27.6 inches (700 mm) due to snowsqualls off of Lake Ontario. Burlington, Vermont recorded record 24-hour snowfall, with 25.3 inches (640 mm).^[12] Boston and Hartford, however, saw very little precipitation from the storm. In fact, Boston is close to setting a record for the least snow in any season.^[13]

A notable feature of the system was its array of precipitation type. While the interior sections of the Northeast received mostly snow from the system, the Mid-Atlantic received snow, sleet, freezing rain and non-freezing rain. Due to the three-dimensional nature of the atmosphere, warm air was poised to overtake the cold air closer to the ground, causing precipitation to melt, then refreeze as either sleet or freezing rain. As temperatures hovered around freezing on the southern edge of the storm track, light snow accompanied freezing rain and sleet. The freezing rain coated all surfaces with thick layers of ice, including power lines and tree limbs which break under the additional weight. Some locations in the Mid-Atlantic received several inches of sleet. Four inches (100 mm) of sleet caused travel difficulties and hampered cleanup efforts in New York City. New York City's sanitation department admitted to not plowing city streets, expecting the frozen precipitation to change from ice to rain. However, this never happened. Instead, temperatures dropped very quickly and caused the slush on sidewalks and roads to freeze into thick, rock hard sheets of ice. Streets were almost impassable during the evening rush hour resulting in complete chaos.

Ice accumulations in Virginia and Maryland reached locally three-quarters of an inch (20 mm)^[14] while it reached 1 inch (25 mm) in central Ohio near Columbus and Xenia, with up to 0.7 inches (18 mm) near Cincinnati.^[15]

The effect on much of Michigan by the storm was light, although the extreme southern part of the state was hard hit with heavy snowfall, especially the Detroit Metro area. Wind whipped snow accumulations ranged from 7 to 10 inches (180–250 mm) fell throughout the area, especially the southeastern suburbs, including 8.5 inches (220 mm) at both Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Wyandotte, and 8.4 inches (210 mm) in Dundee. Drifts were as high as two to three feet (600–900 mm), and the snow was very powdery as it fell with temperatures around 10 °F (−12 °C).

Due to the near-record amounts of snow in the Appalachian mountain chain, National Weather Service officials had issued statement for a higher risk of avalanches across northern New England.^[16]

[edit] Damage and travel disruptions

Cars unable to ascend a slope in Northern Virginia due to icy conditions

Blizzard conditions were reported across most of the Midwest from Illinois to Ohio. Numerous flights were canceled due to the snow and ice across various airports including in Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City, Montreal, Kansas City, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Boston and Cincinnati. 900 were canceled at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Lackawanna County and Luzerne County in northeastern Pennsylvania received so much snow that every highway was closed.

At New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, several empty JetBlue airplanes were frozen to the tarmac at the gates and incoming flights could not access the gates as a result, while outgoing flights already taxiing were ordered held on the runway due to weather conditions. Many passengers in planes, either landing or taking off, were held in the planes, eating peanuts and other snacks for as much as 10 hours before the decision was made to cancel the outgoing flights or a gate had opened for the inbound ones.^[17]^[18] Several airports including Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport, and John C. Munro International Airport in Hamilton were completely shut down for several hours.^[19]^[20] GO Train in Toronto and Amtrak train service from Boston was also disrupted. In Scranton, Pennsylvania the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain collapsed under the weight of the snow on February 15, 2007. Strong winds also accompanied the storm but damage was minimal, though a radio tower pole was toppled by 40 mph (64 km/h) winds in Ohio.^[21]

Road traveling was extensively slowed down and numerous accidents and pile-ups were reported across several states and in Ontario. One of the accidents on the Ohio Turnpike involved two tractor-trailers which fell several hundred feet,^[22] and another one on Highway 403 in Hamilton involved three tractor-trailers and five cars which forced the closure of the road.^[23] Numerous other major roads were also temporarily shutdown, including Highway 401 in Ontario due to a fatal accident in Napanee and Autoroute 20 and Route 132 in eastern Quebec between Quebec City and Rimouski.^[24]

In Sherbrooke, Quebec, where nearly 2 feet (0.61 m) of snow fell, several hundred students were forced to sleep at schools as buses were unable to travel in the near blizzard conditions. The school board was criticized for opening schools on that day.^[25]

Severe ice caused a 50-mile (80 km) stretch of Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania between Lebanon County and Allentown to be shut down, stranding motorists for upwards of 24 hours and requiring the National Guard to be called in.^[26] Other stretches of highway throughout Pennsylvania were shut down, including Interstate 80, 81, and after the storm, even the Pennsylvania Turnpike. On February 16, Governor Ed Rendell called for a thorough investigation into how the state handled the winter weather emergency, citing a lack of communication and quick action as the cause of the problems, and even going so far as to taking responsibility for the situation.^[27]

[edit] Deaths

Thirty-seven people were killed during the storm and its aftermath. Most of them were killed in motor vehicle accidents, including one in Ontario,^[28] three in Nebraska, two in New York,^[29] two in Illinois, two in New Jersey, two in Indiana, two in Delaware, one in New Brunswick,^[30] five in Quebec, one in Louisiana, one in New Hampshire, six in Vermont,^[31] one in Missouri, one in Pennsylvania, one in Virginia, and six in Ohio. In addition to traffic accidents, fatalities were reported due to tornadoes, heart attacks while shoveling, roof collapses due to heavy snow, falling tree branches and carbon monoxide poisoning.^[22]^[32]^[33]^[34]^[35]^[36]^[37]^[38]^[12] In Quebec City, a 16-year old boy disappeared during the snowstorm and was found dead three days later in a snow bank.^[39]

[edit] Schools

Mansfield, Ohio paralyzed by 17 inches (430 mm) of snow

The inclement weather caused many educational institutions, such as universities and secondary schools, to close. Among these were University of Michigan-Dearborn in Dearborn, Michigan, Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio, Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois, Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Connecticut, Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, The University of Akron, Kent State University, Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, OH, The University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio, the University at Albany, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, The Pennsylvania State University, Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vermont, George Mason University, Northern Virginia Community College and James Madison University in Virginia, Sherbrooke University and Bishop's University, in Quebec, the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, Georgetown University in Washington, DC, Cornell University,^[40] University of Pittsburgh, Chatham College in Pittsburgh, and West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Tornado damage, rather than snow fall, caused Tulane University to cancel classes.

An ice-covered mailbox near Fredericksburg, Virginia demonstrates how freezing rain along the storm's southern track left surfaces coated with ice.

Several elementary, middle, and high schools were closed three days in a row in central New York. Public schools in the "W Towns" in Eastern Massachusetts (Weston, Wayland, and Wellesley) did have school that day despite the fact that almost every other town in the state having the day off. Several schools' classes were canceled after years without a snow day. Dartmouth College shut down campus operations on February 14. Essential employees remained staffed, and classes were held at professors' discretions. It was the first snow day for the college since the 70s, and its second in its 238-year history.

Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio closed its campus for two days, beginning February 13, for the third time in 25 years.^[41] Syracuse University canceled all classes after 12:45 pm on Wednesday, closing for only the second time in its 130-year history; for SUNY Geneseo, the previous snow day had occurred 14 years ago;^[42] for Ithaca College, the first time in 13 years;^[43] for the University of Toledo, the first time in 22 years due to winter-related conditions.^[44] The University of Illinois canceled their classes for two consecutive days for the first time in at least 27 years.^[45] A blizzard warning forced Purdue University to suspend classes for the first time in 13 years.^[46] For the first time in six years, Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio canceled classes as a result of the snow. On February 14, for only the third time in school history, Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania canceled classes as a result of the snow. Susquehanna University in nearby Selinsgrove, however, remained open with no official cancellations.

[edit] Other closings

Legislative meetings in Ohio and Pennsylvania were also affected due to the bad weather. In Pittsburgh, tourist sites such as the zoo and aquarium were closed.^[47] In New Hampshire, presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R) was forced to cancel a campaign appearance.^[48] A global warming hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality scheduled for 14 February and a showing of the film An Inconvenient Truth at Maryville University in St. Louis were also cancelled.^[49]

Snow drifts in Hamilton, Ontario where approximately 700 mm (28 in) of snow was received

[edit] Power outages

Localized but extensive power outages were reported across areas that were hit by significant amounts of ice. At the peak of the storm over 300,000 customers lost power across the United States. In the Cincinnati area, 122,000 were without power at one point with 52,000 still blacked out as of Wednesday morning. All had been restored by Tuesday morning.^[50]^[51] About 7,500 customers in Indiana near the Indianapolis region were still without power on February 15, down from a peak of about 50,000 especially in the Bloomington area.^[52] Other states that reported outages included Kentucky (14,000), Maryland (at least 135,000 customers, including 69,000 in Anne Arundel County and 25,000 in Prince George's County, Maryland),^[53] New Jersey (36,000), Pennsylvania (10,000 in the Pittsburgh region),^[54] Virginia (7,800),^[55] and New York (18,000) on Long Island. By 10:00 am Thursday, February 15, about 73,000 homes were without electricity in the Washington DC metropolitan area.^[56] Most of those outages were from an ice storm that hit areas from the southern Ohio Valley towards the Atlantic Coast.

[edit] Other disruptions

As the storm hit on the week of Valentine's Day, numerous deliveries were delayed significantly.^[57] The mayor of Covington, Kentucky, Butch Callery, postponed Valentine's Day until Saturday.^[58] Travelers heading to Mardi Gras had to take a train to Washington D.C. and then drive a rental vehicle to New Orleans.

[edit] Precipitation by region

A plot of official snowfall totals in southern New England from the storm.

Storm Snow Totals Totals are for the main system only.
Region	in	mm
Stowe, VT^[59]	48	1,200
DeRuyter, NY^[60]	43	1,100
Stratford, NY^[61]	42	1,100
Cooperstown, NY^[1]	33	840
Canaan, VT^[1]	31	790
Kingfield, ME^[62]	31	790
Bennington, VT	28.0	710
Hamilton, ON^[63]	15.7–27.6	400–700
Gorham, NH^[1]	26	660
Burlington, VT^[12]	25.3	640
Syracuse, NY^[1]	22	560
Sherbrooke, QC^[35]	21.7	550
Rochester, NY^[64]	21.0	530
Binghamton, NY^[65]	18.5	470
Niagara Region, ON^[66]	10.0–17.8	250–450
Quebec City, QC^[67]	17.7	450
Scranton, PA	17.1	430
Lafayette, IN^[68]	17.0	430
Albany, NY^[61]	16.8	430
Ithaca, NY^[65]	16.8	430
Paxton, IL	16.0	410
Springfield, IL^[69]	15.8	400
Granby, QC^[70]	15.7	400
Cleveland, OH^[71]	15.0	380
Lima, Ohio^[65]	14	360
Normal, IL^[69]	13.0	330
Chicago - O'Hare Airport	10.2	260
Montreal, QC^[72]^[73]	5.9–9.8	150–250
Detroit, Michigan^[74]	8.5	220
Indianapolis, IN^[68]	8.5	220
Ottawa, ON^[75]	5.9	150
Columbus, OH^[76]	5.9	150

[edit] Gulf States severe weather outbreak

South of the wintry precipitation zone, severe weather erupted across the Gulf States, where a tornado was reported on February 12 in the New Orleans area killing one person and injuring a dozen in the Pontchartrain Park neighborhood, one of the hardest hit areas by Hurricane Katrina due to the flood waters. The woman was inside a FEMA trailer when it was hit by the EF2 twister. In addition to significant structural damages to numerous buildings including a dozen destroyed, 20,000 residents lost power across the metropolitan area.^[77]

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13 February 2007 New Orleans tornados

Severe weather was also reported south of Birmingham, Alabama, near Jackson, Mississippi as well as in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. 21 tornadoes in total were reported on February 12 and February 13 across Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama and 17 have been confirmed with no tornadoes stronger than EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.^[78]^[79] A particularly strong squall line passed through Alabama on the evening of February 13 with reports of baseball-sized hail in Montgomery, Alabama.

[edit] Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed Total	Confirmed EF0	Confirmed EF1	Confirmed EF2	Confirmed EF3	Confirmed EF4	Confirmed EF5
19	8	8	3	0	0	0

EF#	Location	County/Parish	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
Louisiana
EF1	Youngsville	Lafayette	0610	2.2 miles (3.5 km)	Roof damage reported to two homes, and a garage was destroyed.^[80] Caused $250,000 in damages.
EF2	SE of Breaux Bridge	St. Martin	0636	4.3 miles (6.9 km)	3 Injuries, at least 26 homes were damaged, with structural damage reported to several homes.^[80] Caused $1.5 Million in damages.
EF0	New Iberia area	Iberia	0708	0.5 mile (800 m)	Brief tornado pushed a mobile home off its foundation.^[80]
EF0	New Iberia area	Iberia	0708	0.5 mile (800 m)	Brief tornado pushed a mobile home off its foundation.^[80]
EF0	Erath	Vermilion	0725	Less than 1-mile (1.6 km) (1.6 km)	Destroyed a house that was under construction.^[80]
EF2	West New Orleans	Jefferson, Orleans	0855	4.5 miles (7.2 km)	Tornado first touched down in Westwego before crossing the Mississippi River into New Orleans. Significant damage reported in the Avenue D and U.S. Route 90 Business area in Westwego, where structural damage was reported to several two-story buildings. Significant damage reported in the Uptown and Carrollton areas, including roofs ripped off and some structural damage to homes. Nine people were injured.^[81]
EF2	East New Orleans	Orleans	0910	1.5 miles (2.4 km)	1 death - Tornado touched down in the Pontchartrain Park neighborhood of the Gentilly area of New Orleans. Several homes sustained significant damage with partially collapsed upper levels. Extensive damage to trees and power lines were reported before it lifted near the Industrial Canal. Damage was also reported to many FEMA trailers in this area devastated by Hurricane Katrina. An 86-year-old elderly woman died from her injuries after her FEMA trailer was destroyed. 25 others were injured.^[81]
Mississippi
EF1	NE of Burns	Smith	0857	3.5 miles (5.5 km)	One home lost its roof. Many trees and power lines were knocked down.^[82]
EF0	E of Oak Vale	Jefferson Davis	0913	2.75 miles (4.5 km)	No buildings were affected, but extensive tree damage was reported.^[82]
Alabama
EF0	N of Newbern	Hale, Perry	2253	6 miles (9.6 km)	Several old barns damaged, as well as tree damage.^[83]
EF1	NW of Centreville	Tuscaloosa, Bibb	2347	10 miles (16 km)	400-yard wide tornado destroyed a metal barn structure. Many trees damaged.^[83]
EF0	NE of Centreville	Bibb	0015-0030	7 miles (11.2 km)	Minor building damage, trees uprooted.^[83]
EF1	W of Autaugaville	Autauga	0041	1.2 miles (2 km)	Minor structural damage reported to a carport and shed.^[83]
South Carolina
EF1	S of Parksville	McCormick	2247-2255	16 miles (25.6 km)	Up to 200 yards (180 m) wide. 3 outbuildings were destroyed, numerous trees were uprooted.^[84]
EF0	SE of Allendale	Allendale	0001	unknown	Tornado was 30 yards (27 m) wide, no damage reported.^[84]
EF0	SE of Olar	Bamberg	0027	0.75 miles (1.2 km)	Brief touchdown, no damage reported.^[84]
Florida
EF1	N of Hosford	Liberty	2005	unknown	Shed was completely destroyed.^[84]
Georgia
EF0	E of Sylvania	Screven	2328	0.6 miles (1 km)	About 35 yards (32 m) wade, no damage reported.^[84]
Sources: SPC Storm Reports for 02/12, SPC Storm Reports for 02/13, Lake Charles office, New Orleans office, Jackson office, Birmingham office

[edit] Gallery

Icicles suspended from wires in Northern Virginia	A large amount of snow moved off of a road by snow plow in Northern Virginia	An ice covered tree in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	Tree branches like those of this Bradford pear near Fredericksburg, Virginia were weighed down by heavy coatings of ice.
Snow cover in Ithaca, New York	Snow cover in Silver Spring, Maryland	Snow cover in Berlin, New Hampshire	Fallen lamp post in Colchester, Vermont at Saint Michael's College
Snow cover in Chester County, Pennsylvania	Snow-covered homes and streets in West Lafayette, Indiana	Snow cover in western New York	Snow cover in Hamilton Ontario.
A pool in St. Albans Vermont, partially hidden by a large amount of snow.	Approximately 5 inches (12.5 cm) of snow fell near Beekman, New York, while other areas were affected more significantly.	A Quiznos Sub in Syracuse, New York closed due to snowfall affecting shipments.	A New Jersey car covered in snow and ice after the blizzard.
Ice storm topples trees on to roadway and power lines in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, on Valentine's Day 2007.	Over a week after the storm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, melted snow refreezes into ice on a street.