January 25-31, 2004
Midwest Weekly Highlights - January 25-31, 2004
Stormy and Cold End of January
The last week of January started with a slow moving winter storm and ended with the approach of another strong system, with a few smaller disturbances in between. Precipitation amounts ranged from 0.50 to 1.00 inch in the core of the snow storm in Iowa and Minnesota, while 1 to 2 inches of precipitation fell in the southern Midwest along the storm track (Figure 1). Precipitation amounts were well above normal in Minnesota and western Iowa, assisting drought stricken locations in that area (Figure 2). Other places with above normal precipitation were largely restricted to the lake effect zones, which were quite active during the week. More than a foot of snow fell over widespread areas of western Iowa, northern Minnesota, and in the lake effect zones (Figure 3). After the passage of the low, temperatures plunged to the lowest levels since January 1999 in much Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, with the weekly average more than 20°F below normal in northern Minnesota to only 4°F below normal in Kentucky (Figure 4). Almost all of the Midwest was more than 10°F below normal for the week. The timely snow helped to complete a widespread snow cover over the Midwest for the first time in several seasons (Figure 5). The snow in western Iowa helped to ameliorate drought conditions, while preventing drought from getting worse in northern and central Minnesota (Figure 6, National Drought Mitigation Center).
A Storm With a One-Two Punch
An intense low pressure center formed in the lee of the Rockies on the 24th, with storm related weather reaching the Midwest on the 25th and continuing through the 27th. The winter storm moved slowly through the southern Midwest (Figure 7, College of DuPage), before curving northeastward and passing over Detroit as it departed the region. The storm brought some moisture north, which caused rain in the warm sector of the system and freezing rain in the cold air north of the surface front. Freezing rain was reported from Kansas City, through St. Louis, into eastern Kentucky. Snow and mixed precipitation fell north of this line. Meanwhile, an upper level trough forming in the Great Plains (Figure 8, COD) anchored a quasi-stationary band of snow from northern Kansas to Minnesota. Places in this area received more than a foot of snow (Figure 9, NWS). At a minimum, weather related causes were responsible for 5 deaths in Iowa, 5 deaths in Missouri, 3 deaths in Minnesota, and 2 deaths in Indiana, for a total of 15 deaths in the Midwest. Most of these deaths were due to traffic accidents on slippery roads. A white out caused a 50-car pile-up near Lansing, MI, but cars were traveling slowly enough that no one was seriously injured.
Cold and Lake Effect
Following the storm, an intensely cold Arctic air mass entered the region. Lake effect activity brought more than two feet of snow to some locations in northern Michigan, but it was Duluth that had its 3rd larget storm ever, topping out at 27.1 inches. While temperatures started falling on the 27th, the low point of the cold snap was reached on the morning of January 29, when temperatures plunged to -47°F in Cook, MN. Cold temperatures were even more widespread the next day over most of northern Minnesota, with a low of -45°F in Park Rapids, MN (Figure 10). Record cold high temperatures were tied or set that day in Chicago and Lincoln, IL, St. Louis, MO, and Indianapolis, IN. The next morning was even colder in the central and eastern Midwest, with Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, and Jackson, KY, setting record lows for the 31st. The most serious impact of the cold wave was in Sheboygan, WI, where the drinking water intake line from Lake Michigan for tens of thousands of residents was almost closed by ice build-up within the pipe. Some of the ice broke off within hours, restoring about 1/3 of the normal water capacity, but the water users were on emergency restrictions for several days. Two deaths due to cold were reported in St. Louis, and one each was reported in Chicago and Indianapolis. As the month of January ended, another large winter storm was approaching the Midwest.