Midwest Overview - January 1-7, 2004

Warm, Cold, Snow, and Rain: This Week Had It All

January 2004 started warmly and quietly, but by the 3rd a powerful winter storm formed in the four corners region of the Southwest, and then passed through the southern Midwest on the 4th and 5th. Most of the precipitation this week in the central and southern Midwest fell during the two day period, reaching 3-4 inches over much of the Ohio Valley (Figure 1). This zone received over 400% of normal precipitation (Figure 2). The storm also brought the first widespread winter storm to the region, dropping 4-10 inches of snow from southwestern Iowa to southern Michigan (Figure 3). Since the week started very warmly, most of the region averaged 4-10°F above normal, with only the far northwestern edge of the Midwest below normal for the week (Figure 4). Due to the sharp demarcation of the heavy precipitation zone, drought status in the northwestern portion of the Midwest did not improve (Figure 5, National Drought Mitigation Center). However, Ohio Valley river levels rose to record and near record levels for the time of year (Figure 6, US Geological Survey), with some of the rivers exceeding their banks and flooding lowlands. The week ended with a sharp turn from above normal to below normal temperatures throughout the region.

Record Warmth, then Coldest Day of the Season

After a warm December, the new year started with a few more very warm days in the Midwest. The southern Midwest had high temperatures above 60°F (Figure 7), and many high temperature records were set. On the 1st, high records were recorded at St. Joseph, MO, and Lamoni, IA. The warmest day, the 2nd, had more the 20 high temperature records set at first order stations from Missouri to Michigan. Even on the 3rd, as a strong cold front approach and lots of precipitation entered the region, several locations in the central and eastern Midwest recorded record high temperatures or record high minimum temperatures. By the end of the week, though, temperatures had plunged more than 50°F, with much of the region having below 0°F low temperature observations on the morning of the 6th (Figure 8). Many newspapers covered the exuberant mood of the public as they enjoyed the warm temperatures, while others lamented the lack of winter recreation as parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin suffered through their third snow drought winter in a row. However, the bitter cold did lead to the start of the ice fishing season in some locations, and in low snow zones ATVs instead of snowmobiles were used for dragging ice houses onto lakes. The cold spell brought dangerous conditions to cities in the Midwest, and two people in Chicago and one person in Detroit died of exposure. The homeless shelters in Chicago and Indianapolis were filled to capacity, sheltering more than 6,000, and Chicago’s cold emergency line assisted many with heat problems.

First Widespread Snowstorm of the Winter 2003-4; Heavy Rain to South

On January 4th and 5th, a major winter storm from the southern Rockies passed through the region. A strong low pressure center tracked up the Ohio Valley (Figure 9, College of DuPage). The large precipitation shield on radar (Figure 10, COD) was mostly rain south of northern Illinois and Indiana, but the smooth bands over Iowa and northern Illinois are snow (Figure 11, COD). Snow totals ranged from 4-10 inches along the core of the snow swath from the Iowa/Missouri border to southern Michigan (Figure 12). The snow and cold had a substantial impact on cities from Kansas City, MO, to Detroit, MI, including Chicago, IL. The airport at Kansas City, MO, had to be closed while workers de-iced the runways. In Iowa, snow was deep enough to cancel or delay school on the 5th, and led to plane flight cancellations at Des Moines. In Chicago, more than 300 flights were canceled at O’Hare airport. North in Wisconsin, two chain-reaction crashes involving 40 and 17 vehicles tied up traffic for hours on Interstate 90 in Madison, WI. Fifteen people were injured, but no one died. In Detroit, MI, another 127 flights were cancelled. However, a number of weather related traffic deaths were reported in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. More than 150 accidents related to slick roads were recorded in the Chicago area alone.

The zone to the south of the snowfall received a considerable amount of rain, about 2-3 inches in its core (Figure 13). This rain was following on the heals of a wet fall and early winter (Figure 14), when 10-12 inches of rain reached in excess of 125% of normal for the region and time of year. The copious rains, combined with poor infiltration into frozen ground, led to significant floods in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. A number of river locations exceeded flood stage (yellow, orange and red dots in (Figure 15, NWS). The East Fork of the White River in Bedford, IN, exceed flood stage by more than 10 feet (Figure 16, USGS). Flooding along the Scioto and Great Miami Rivers required evacuations in Ohio. Even the mighty Ohio River exceeded flood crest by almost 6 feet at Newburgh, IN (Figure 17, USGS). A man in a car in Indiana was swept to his death as he tried to cross high water, and a girl in Kentucky hydroplaned on a flooded road and flipped upside down into a creek, also killing her. Fortunately, there was no follow-up precipitation, and the flooding has been limited to moderate or lesser scales in the Ohio River Valley. The beginning of the year was quite eventful from both a meteorological and climatological perspective.