Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies.

Winter started with a bang in the Midwest this season, with December 2000 being both cold and snowy. This was the second coldest December in 106 years in the Midwest as a whole, with Illinois setting a record for its coldest December ever. Given recent warm December months in 1997-1999, this was a large change from recent form. For instance, Chicago-O'Hare has recorded approximately 50% more heating degree days during this December than it averaged over the previous three December months from 1997-1999, going from 1015 to 1501 heat units (1961-90 average: 1176). In many ways, however, the biggest story has been the very large snow fall totals recorded throughout most of the Midwest. While the regionally averaged precipitation total ranked only slightly wetter than normal, 42nd wettest, it is very unusual for so much moisture to be found in conjunction with intensely cold conditions. A very active storm track developed over the region, bringing snow regularly every 2-4 days, including a couple large storms. Approximately 15 first-order stations recorded all-time record snow fall totals in December, especially along a band from Iowa and southern Minnesota through the Great Lakes region. The state of Iowa set an all-time record for December snow fall statewide (Harry Hillaker, Iowa State Climatologist).

Extreme Events and Impacts.

The winter storm of December 11-12 affected more than half of the Midwest, with only the far northwest and southeast corners escaping strong impacts (Figure 12). Midway Airport, Chicago, IL, set an all time record for a 24-hour snowfall in December of 13.6 inches; the storm total was 14.5 inches. Milwaukee, WI, set an all-time record for a 24-hour snowfall in December with 13.6 inches (10th largest daily total overall). Grand Rapids, MI, also set a 24-hour snowfall record for December with 15.1 inches. In fact, Grand Rapids had already received more than 47.7 inches of snow for the season as of the 12th, which is within 7 inches of their entire 1999-2000 seasonal total. Many stations set snowfall records for December 11, including Chicago, IL, Peoria, IL, Des Moines, IA, and La Crosse, WI. Some other noteworthy storm totals include 11.5 inches at South Bend, IN, 14.0 inches at Elkhart, IN, 14.0 inches at Flint, MI, and 20 inches at Port Huron, MI. The National Weather Service (NWS) in southern Michigan estimate that this storm was the third largest snowfall event on record in the Flint area. A daily record for liquid water equivalent was set at Fort Wayne, IN, were 1.03 inches of precipitation fell on the 11th.

The snow storm had a number of impacts on the Midwest. Transportation by road was largely immobilized over large areas in Iowa, northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, extreme northern Indiana, and Lower Michigan. A state of emergency was declared in three Detroit-area counties in Michigan, where people were ordered to stay home until the roads were cleared. The city of Detroit activated a new policy for the first time, which is to plow side streets if a snowfall exceeds 6 inches. This policy was put in place after the Blizzard of 1999 immobilized the city for two weeks following a 26 inch snowfall. One 80-year old woman died while shoveling snow in her driveway. In northern Indiana, National Guard soldiers in Humvees were utilized to rescue motorists stuck in heavy drifts on area roads. Two people died in Indiana in separate weather related car accidents. There were dozens of accidents in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, but no fatalities were reported.

Airports from Kansas City to Detroit were forced to halve the number of flights they usually handle, and even close at times. Two planes slipped off icy taxiways at Kansas City International Airport, and one plane slid off the end of a runway while landing at O'Hare International Airport. Fortunately, no one was injured. United Airlines canceled 363 of 434 scheduled departures from O'Hare, and American Airlines canceled about 544 of 700 scheduled departures. Flights at O'Hare did not return to normal for another two days. These problems created ripple effects throughout the air travel system nationwide, especially for United. American Airlines isolates flight operations involving planes flying through O'Hare in the winter time, and so the O'Hare cancellations did not have as much of an impact elsewhere in their system. A few flights bound for O'Hare were diverted to Minneapolis, which was relatively unaffected by the storm. Detroit Metro Airport reported that 190 outbound Northwest Air flights were canceled, but the situation was handled by notifying most outgoing passengers before they tried to drive to the airport. Only about 500 passengers were left stranded at the airport. Trans World Airlines canceled 122 flights related to weather conditions at their St. Louis hub. Finally, 375 to 400 of the 440 flights that normally use Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport were canceled, too.

Even the Metra train system in Chicago had delays due to problems with the equipment that operated switches. Still, the efforts to prevent snow and ice from confounding the electronic control circuitry of the train system were much improved over the Blizzard of 1999, which brought 20 inches of snow to Chicago on January 1-2 of that year and immobilized the commuter train system. Most trains ran normal routes, with only short delays.

Electric utilities were also affected by the high winds following the passage of the storm. About 15,000 power customers in Indiana, 4,000 in Illinois, and several thousand in Iowa lost power in the windy aftermath of the storm. In Ohio, in addition to 2,400 customers without power, winds were strong enough to knock over trees and blow a roof of a house in Cleveland; wind gusts to 80 mph were measured at the Akron-Canton airport.

The cold air entering the region after the storm system also set a number of records. Record low temperatures were set on December 12 at Dubuque, IA, Moline, IA, Eau Claire, WI, Rockford, IL, O'Hare (Chicago), IL, and South Bend, IN. In addition, record low highs were set at Moline, IL, Dubuque, IL, and Minneapolis, MN, where the high was -1°F. Due to the demands for heating and the perception of potential shortages, natural gas prices increased greatly in the Midwest in just a few days time, reaching 300% of prices last winter. Heating oil prices are already 150% of prices last winter, also due to perceived shortages and high demand. The very cold air has also kept snow and ice from fully melting off the roads, increasing transportation hazards for an extended period. In addition, many school systems canceled classes for an extra day due to the cold and blowing snow. Most cities in the region appear to have done a good job coping with this major winter storm, perhaps due to the many improvements in planning that took place since the Blizzard of '99 caught many communities off-guard.