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December 2013 North American storm complex
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December 2013 North American storm complex
The December 2013 North American storm complex was a significant storm complex that included many different types of severe weather, including a winter storm, a severe ice storm and a tornado outbreak that impacted the central and eastern portions of Canada, parts of the Central Great Plains, the Southern United States, and the northeastern United States from 20 to 23 December 2013. Formed in the South Central United States, the storm headed across the Great Plains towards Canada into Atlantic Canada and northeastern United States where the storm dissipated on 23 December 2013. The storm produced freezing rain and snow to the affected areas which caused massive damage to electric power transmission and trees. The storm resulted in 29 deaths, loss of power to over a million residents and over $200 million in damages. The storm produced similar conditions to the ice storm of 1998 which affected similar areas.
On 19 December, an area of low pressure that had formed over Texas traveled through the northwestern part of Arkansas, passing through Oklahoma overnight on 19 December, heading towards the Midwestern United States and the Great Plains where lower temperatures forecast ice accumulation. It entered Ontario, Canada, by 2:00 pm on 20 December, when a freezing rain warning was in place. The associated warm front, which ran from Texas, met a cold air mass in eastern Canada, where large amounts of snow fell. Near the front, precipitation was in the form of freezing rain and ice pellets. The front gradually extended toward Atlantic Canada during the night of 20–21 December, affecting extreme Southern Quebec and later the Maritimes. By mid-day on 21 December, an upper-level low had developed in central Texas, and this began to draw moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. While moving to the northeast, the storm dumped heavy snow and ice over parts of the Upper Midwest and Michigan Peninsula through 21 December. One specific part of the storm close to the upper-level low lingered near Kansas and produced snowfall rates of 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1 cm) per hour, before eventually moving northwards and leaving behind snowfall totals of up to 10–14 inches (25–36 cm) in some areas.
On 22 December, the storm brought freezing rain to the state of Maine. The storm caused freezing rain to accumulate on tree branches, causing some to fall off and topple power lines. The storm complex continued to produce ice and snow in the northern parts of New England and Canada, before finally weakening and dissipating late on 23 December.
The storm complex was also responsible for producing a small but damaging tornado outbreak that occurred from 20 to 21 December, most of which occurred on 21 December, due to the fact that supercell thunderstorms were able to pop up, and eventually coalesced into a squall line later the same day along the system's cold front, as it tracked towards the East Coast. It then began to linger over the Southeast before weakening as the initial area of low pressure tracked out of the country.
Before the storm, meteorologists predicted falls of a mixture of snow, ice pellets and freezing rain from two storm systems from Texas and the Great Lakes. As the predicted possible ice storm was heading towards the northeastern United States, utility workers were preparing for the event. Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo declared a winter ice storm emergency for parts of the state and prepared the emergency operations center. In Toronto, Toronto Hydro executive vice president Ben LaPianta stated, "We knew the storm was coming out of the central U.S., it was a warm air mass and we knew that it was going to collide somewhere in Ontario." Utility workers prepared for the possibility of fallen power lines and officials warned residents to prepare for power outages.
In both central Canada and central United States, cryoseisms (frost quakes) formed as a result of this ice storm were heard by a large number of people.
Hydro One, an electricity company that serves mostly rural areas of Ontario, reported over 600,000 power outages at the height of the storm. The worst-hit areas were along the shores of the Lake Ontario. In Trenton, just east of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), there was a reported 3 cm (1.2 in) of ice accumulation on the ground. The ice accumulation across southern and eastern Ontario was severe enough to cause widespread power outages because of fallen trees and branches. There were numerous automobile accidents on Highway 401. The town of Woolwich declared a state of emergency on 22 December after it was determined it would be without power for at least 24 hours. Elsewhere in Ontario, thousands of customers remained without power until well after Christmas Day.
Toronto, Canada's largest city, was one of the hardest hit by the ice storm. The first wave of freezing rain began on 20 December; it coated the city in a significant but manageable quantity of ice. The second, more powerful wave of rain struck the city in the early morning of 22 December. Utility poles and tree branches collapsed under the weight of the thick ice accumulation. At the height of the storm over 300,000 Toronto Hydro customers had no electricity or heating. The City of Toronto simultaneously opened and operated 13 community reception centers and 13 Toronto police facility community warming centers, providing temporary sleeping accommodation, food, water, hygiene kits and other resources. The warming centers operated 24 hours a day, offering those without electricity a warm place to sleep and eat until their power was restored. By 24 December, four days after the storm, 69,800 customers throughout the city were still without electricity. Approximately 1,000 people spent Christmas Eve in the warming centers. On 29 December, Hydro One diverted its crews to assist Toronto Hydro to help restore power to over 6,000 people in the city who were still without power. In addition to Hydro One, crews were called in from Ottawa, Windsor and Michigan and Manitoba to help restore power to the city by the New Year. West of Toronto, crews were called in from Goderich, Niagara Region, Tillsonburg, St. Thomas, Essex, Guelph, Haldimand County and Oakville.
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December 2013 North American storm complex
The December 2013 North American storm complex was a significant storm complex that included many different types of severe weather, including a winter storm, a severe ice storm and a tornado outbreak that impacted the central and eastern portions of Canada, parts of the Central Great Plains, the Southern United States, and the northeastern United States from 20 to 23 December 2013. Formed in the South Central United States, the storm headed across the Great Plains towards Canada into Atlantic Canada and northeastern United States where the storm dissipated on 23 December 2013. The storm produced freezing rain and snow to the affected areas which caused massive damage to electric power transmission and trees. The storm resulted in 29 deaths, loss of power to over a million residents and over $200 million in damages. The storm produced similar conditions to the ice storm of 1998 which affected similar areas.
On 19 December, an area of low pressure that had formed over Texas traveled through the northwestern part of Arkansas, passing through Oklahoma overnight on 19 December, heading towards the Midwestern United States and the Great Plains where lower temperatures forecast ice accumulation. It entered Ontario, Canada, by 2:00 pm on 20 December, when a freezing rain warning was in place. The associated warm front, which ran from Texas, met a cold air mass in eastern Canada, where large amounts of snow fell. Near the front, precipitation was in the form of freezing rain and ice pellets. The front gradually extended toward Atlantic Canada during the night of 20–21 December, affecting extreme Southern Quebec and later the Maritimes. By mid-day on 21 December, an upper-level low had developed in central Texas, and this began to draw moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. While moving to the northeast, the storm dumped heavy snow and ice over parts of the Upper Midwest and Michigan Peninsula through 21 December. One specific part of the storm close to the upper-level low lingered near Kansas and produced snowfall rates of 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1 cm) per hour, before eventually moving northwards and leaving behind snowfall totals of up to 10–14 inches (25–36 cm) in some areas.
On 22 December, the storm brought freezing rain to the state of Maine. The storm caused freezing rain to accumulate on tree branches, causing some to fall off and topple power lines. The storm complex continued to produce ice and snow in the northern parts of New England and Canada, before finally weakening and dissipating late on 23 December.
The storm complex was also responsible for producing a small but damaging tornado outbreak that occurred from 20 to 21 December, most of which occurred on 21 December, due to the fact that supercell thunderstorms were able to pop up, and eventually coalesced into a squall line later the same day along the system's cold front, as it tracked towards the East Coast. It then began to linger over the Southeast before weakening as the initial area of low pressure tracked out of the country.
Before the storm, meteorologists predicted falls of a mixture of snow, ice pellets and freezing rain from two storm systems from Texas and the Great Lakes. As the predicted possible ice storm was heading towards the northeastern United States, utility workers were preparing for the event. Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo declared a winter ice storm emergency for parts of the state and prepared the emergency operations center. In Toronto, Toronto Hydro executive vice president Ben LaPianta stated, "We knew the storm was coming out of the central U.S., it was a warm air mass and we knew that it was going to collide somewhere in Ontario." Utility workers prepared for the possibility of fallen power lines and officials warned residents to prepare for power outages.
In both central Canada and central United States, cryoseisms (frost quakes) formed as a result of this ice storm were heard by a large number of people.
Hydro One, an electricity company that serves mostly rural areas of Ontario, reported over 600,000 power outages at the height of the storm. The worst-hit areas were along the shores of the Lake Ontario. In Trenton, just east of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), there was a reported 3 cm (1.2 in) of ice accumulation on the ground. The ice accumulation across southern and eastern Ontario was severe enough to cause widespread power outages because of fallen trees and branches. There were numerous automobile accidents on Highway 401. The town of Woolwich declared a state of emergency on 22 December after it was determined it would be without power for at least 24 hours. Elsewhere in Ontario, thousands of customers remained without power until well after Christmas Day.
Toronto, Canada's largest city, was one of the hardest hit by the ice storm. The first wave of freezing rain began on 20 December; it coated the city in a significant but manageable quantity of ice. The second, more powerful wave of rain struck the city in the early morning of 22 December. Utility poles and tree branches collapsed under the weight of the thick ice accumulation. At the height of the storm over 300,000 Toronto Hydro customers had no electricity or heating. The City of Toronto simultaneously opened and operated 13 community reception centers and 13 Toronto police facility community warming centers, providing temporary sleeping accommodation, food, water, hygiene kits and other resources. The warming centers operated 24 hours a day, offering those without electricity a warm place to sleep and eat until their power was restored. By 24 December, four days after the storm, 69,800 customers throughout the city were still without electricity. Approximately 1,000 people spent Christmas Eve in the warming centers. On 29 December, Hydro One diverted its crews to assist Toronto Hydro to help restore power to over 6,000 people in the city who were still without power. In addition to Hydro One, crews were called in from Ottawa, Windsor and Michigan and Manitoba to help restore power to the city by the New Year. West of Toronto, crews were called in from Goderich, Niagara Region, Tillsonburg, St. Thomas, Essex, Guelph, Haldimand County and Oakville.
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