December 13-19, 2000:

Three separate winter storms traveled through the Midwest during the week of December 13-19. The storm track of each was somewhat different, but the resulting precipitation totals were very large in the eastern Midwest, exceeding 4 inches in most of Kentucky and some parts of southern Ohio (Figure 6a). This represented more than 5 times the normal precipitation for the week (Figure 6b). Even some areas with lesser water equivalents in Minnesota and Wisconsin also exceeded climatological normals greatly, by 200% or more, due to excessive amounts of snowfall in the region during the week (Figure 7). A foot of snow was common over a very wide region from southern Missouri to northern Michigan, with the latter reaching totals of more than two feet. Extreme cold (Figure 8) helped to both create and maintain an extensive snow pack, with snow depth on the ground exceeding 10 inches in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, northern Illinois, and northern Indiana by the end of the period (Figure 9). Several major climatic records were set, and the drought status of Kentucky and eastern Ohio was greatly reduced or eliminated. Milwaukee had set a new all-time December snow fall record by December 19, and Springfield, MO, had tied its December snow fall record through the 19th. Both stations exceeded their records before the end of the month. Needless to say, impacts this week on travel by road or air were substantial, especially for those travelers flying through Chicago.