February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm: Difference between revisions

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|Minor damage to structures, poles, benches, and fencing occurred near the beach and at [[Frank Brown Park]].<ref>{{cite report|agency=National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Tallahassee, Florida|title=NWS Damage Survey for 02/15/2021 Tornado Event|url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.php?pil=PNSTAE&e=202102162048|publisher=Iowa Environmental Mesonet|date=February 16, 2021|accessdate=February 16, 2021}}</ref>
|Minor damage to structures, poles, benches, and fencing occurred near the beach and at [[Frank Brown Park]].<ref>{{cite report|agency=National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Tallahassee, Florida|title=NWS Damage Survey for 02/15/2021 Tornado Event|url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.php?pil=PNSTAE&e=202102162048|publisher=Iowa Environmental Mesonet|date=February 16, 2021|accessdate=February 16, 2021}}</ref>
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|bgcolor="{{storm colour|cat1}}" | EF1
|ESE of [[Wasau, Florida|Wasau]]
|[[Washington County, Florida|Washington]]
|[[Florida|FL]]
|{{Coord|30.60|-85.46|name=Wasau (Feb.&nbsp;15, EF1)}}
|20:38–20:39
|{{convert|0.7|mi|km|abbr=on|sortable=on}}
|{{convert|100|yd|m|abbr=on|sortable=on}}
|Uprooted trees. Destroyed an outhouse along Wheeler Lane, and did minor roof damage to a double wide mobile home.<ref>{{cite report|agency=National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Tallahassee, Florida|title=NWS Damage Survey for 02/15/2021 Tornado Event|url=https://apps.dat.noaa.gov/stormdamage/damageviewer/|date=February 16, 2021|accessdate=February 17, 2021}}</ref>
|-
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|bgcolor="{{storm colour|cat2}}" | EF2+
|bgcolor="{{storm colour|cat2}}" | EF2+

Revision as of 20:04, 17 February 2021

February 13–16, 2021 North American winter storm
Satellite imagery of the winter storm over the eastern third of the United States on February 16.
TypeExtratropical cyclone
Winter storm
Blizzard
Ice storm
Tornado outbreak
FormedFebruary 13, 2021
DissipatedCurrently active
Lowest pressure985 mb (29.09 inHg)
Tornadoes
confirmed		3
Max. rating1EF3+ tornado
Maximum snowfall
or ice accretion		Snow – 26 in (66 cm) in Detroit, Oregon
Ice – 1.50 in (3.8 cm) in Canby, Oregon
Fatalities12 direct, 9 indirect[2][3]
DamageUnknown
Power outages> 9,724,000[1]
Areas affectedPacific Northwest, Western United States, Southern United States, Eastern United States, Northern Mexico, Eastern Canada

1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

The February 13–16, 2021 North American winter storm is a large extratropical cyclone, winter storm, and ice storm that had widespread impacts across the United States, Northern Mexico, and parts of Canada. The storm started out at the Pacific Northwest and quickly moved into the Southern United States, before moving on to the Midwestern and Northeastern United States a couple of days later. The winter storm resulted in over 170 million Americans being placed under various winter weather alerts across the United States and caused blackouts for over 9.7 million customers,[4][1] including over 5 million customers in the U.S. and 4.7 million customers in Mexico.[1] The storm also brought destructive severe weather to Southeastern United States, including a few tornadoes. So far, there have been at least 12 direct fatalities and nine indirect fatalities attributed to the storm.[5][2][3] The system was unofficially named Winter Storm Uri by The Weather Channel.[6]

Meteorological history

On February 13, a frontal storm developed off the coast of the Pacific Northwest and moved ashore, before moving southeastward, with the storm becoming disorganized in the process.[7][8] During this time, the storm reached a minimum pressure of 992 millibars (29.3 inHg) over the Rocky Mountains.[8] Over the next couple of days, the storm began to develop, as it entered the Southern United States and moved into Texas.[9] On February 15, the system developed a new surface low off the coast of the Florida Panhandle, as the storm turned northeastward and expanded in size.[10] On the next day, the storm developed another low-pressure center to the north as the system grew more organized, while moving towards the northeast.[11] Later that day, the storm broke in half, with the newer storm moving northward into Quebec, while the original system moved off the East Coast of the U.S.[12] By the time the winter storm exited the U.S. late on February 16, the combined snowfall from the multiple winter storms within the past month had left nearly 75% of the Contiguous United States covered by snow.[13] On October 17, the storm's secondary low dissipated as the system approached landfall on Newfoundland, intensifying in the process.[14] At 12:00 UTC that day, the storm's central pressure reached 985 millibars (29.1 inHg), as the center of the storm moved over Newfoundland.[15]

Preparations and impact

United States

On February 14, the expected impacts from the storm resulted in over 170 million Americans being placed under various winter weather alerts across the United States.[4] Over 120 million of those people were placed under winter storm warnings or ice storm warnings.[16] The winter storm caused power grids to fail across the U.S., causing blackouts for over 5 million homes and businesses, which became one of the largest blackout events in modern U.S. history.[1][17]

Northwest

Severe blowing snow in Snoqualmie, Washington on February 13

The winter storm was the second of the two snowstorms that swept through the region within a one-week period. 11.1 inches (28 cm) of snow in Seattle compounded the previous storm.[18]

The Portland metro area was hit very hard by the storm, which brought a mix of snow and ice to the region.[18] 300,000 customers were left without power in the region, and the Governor declared a state of emergency.[19][1]

Southern Plains

Satellite image of Houston, Texas on February 7 (left) before the storm and on Feb 16 (right) after the storm[20]. Note the dark patches in the latter image that depict areas without electricity.
A snow-covered Texas in the aftermath of the winter storm on February 16

With the threat of icing, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) pre-treated roadways, using a brine-salt mix, across six Southeast Texas counties.[21] Winter Storm Warnings were issued for every county in the state.[6]

On February 14–15, the storm dropped prolific amounts of snow across the state and neighboring Oklahoma, resulting in blackouts for at least 4.3 million Texas residents, as power grids failed across the state.[1] As the result of the winter storm and a concurrent cold wave, two of the electricity reliability commissions servicing the southern U.S., the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), ordered rolling blackouts for 14 states amid the frigid temperatures in an attempt to manage the strain on the power grid and prevent widespread, long-duration blackouts.[22][23][24] At one point during the rolling outages, over 4.2 million people across the south-central states were left without power, with over 3.5 million of them in Texas alone.[25] The rolling blackouts led to calls by Governor Greg Abbott for the Texas Legislature to conduct investigations into preparations and decisions undertaken by ERCOT in advance of the storm.[26] After consulting Dallas mayor Eric Johnson, two NHL games between the Nashville Predators and the Dallas Stars that were scheduled for the evenings of February 15 and 16 at American Airlines Center was postponed,[27][28] and a game between the Stars and the Tampa Bay Lightning scheduled for February 18 was also postponed.[29] The storm killed at least 11 people across the South.[30][5]

In Oklahoma, winter storm warnings were issued for all 77 counties in the state ahead of the storm, and Governor Kevin Stitt also issued a statewide winter weather State of Emergency on February 12, as the state was already dealing with effects from minor winter events from the days prior.[31] Widespread areas of 3–8 inches (7.6–20.3 cm) were recorded throughout the state with locally higher amounts in a some areas. Roosevelt saw 12 inches (30 cm) of snow, the highest total seen in the state during the event.[32] The heavy, blowing snow caused massive travel issues across the state on February 14. By 5:20 pm CST, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol had responded to 56 non-injury collisions, 24 injury collisions, and 116 motorist assists.[33] A fiery crash involving multiple vehicles, including two semi-trucks, shut down the Turner Turnpike near Hiwassee Road in northeastern Oklahoma County, with westbound traffic being diverted to the Kickapoo Turnpike and eastbound traffic being diverted to I-35.[34] Another vehicle collision on I-35 near Braman caused one fatality.[3] The record cold temperatures during the event also caused a dam at Lake Overholser to completely freeze over.[35]

Great Lakes

Chicago, Illinois along with other cities in northern Illinois received up to 14-17 inches of snow along with winds that got up to 20 mph. Toledo, Ohio received 14.5 inches of snow (3rd highest 2 day snowfall record and highest since 1912) Other Northern Ohio cities received up to 10-12 inches of snow while cities in the central part received up to 3 inches of snow like in Columbus, Ohio.

Map of snow emergencies in Ohio from February 15–16, 2021, at their most severe levels

Southeast

See also: List of United States tornadoes from January to February 2021 § February 15 event

A severe weather outbreak struck the Southeastern United States on February 15, with large hail, damaging winds, and at least three tornadoes affecting five states.[36] A tornado of at least EF2 intensity caused significant damage to a mobile home and a family home in Damascus, Georgia, injuring one person. A more destructive tornado of at least high-end EF3 intensity struck Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, causing major damage to many well-built homes, some of which were obliterated. This tornado killed three and injured 10.[37][38]

List of confirmed tornadoes – Monday, February 15, 2021[note 1]
EF# Location County / Parish State Start Coord. Time (UTC) Path length Max width Summary
EF0 NW of Panama City Beach Bay FL 30°13′16″N 85°53′23″W / 30.2211°N 85.8898°W / 30.2211; -85.8898 (Panama City Beach Beach (Feb. 15, EF0)) 20:01–20:03 1.3 mi (2.1 km) 50 yd (46 m) Minor damage to structures, poles, benches, and fencing occurred near the beach and at Frank Brown Park.[39]
EF1 ESE of Wasau Washington FL 30°36′N 85°28′W / 30.60°N 85.46°W / 30.60; -85.46 (Wasau (Feb. 15, EF1)) 20:38–20:39 0.7 mi (1.1 km) 100 yd (91 m) Uprooted trees. Destroyed an outhouse along Wheeler Lane, and did minor roof damage to a double wide mobile home.[40]
EF2+ Damascus Early GA 31°18′N 84°42′W / 31.30°N 84.70°W / 31.30; -84.70 (Damascus (Feb. 15, EF2)) 21:38–? [to be determined] [to be determined] A tornado significantly damaged a double wide mobile home and a single family home, injuring one person. The tornado has been preliminarily rated EF2.[41][42]
EF3+ N of Ocean Isle Beach Brunswick NC 33°56′N 78°29′W / 33.93°N 78.49°W / 33.93; -78.49 (Ocean Isle Beach (Feb. 15, EF3)) 04:35–? 6.9 mi (11.1 km) [to be determined] 3 deaths – Significant damage to many well built homes, some of which were completely demolished. Ten people were injured. The tornado has been preliminarily rated EF3.[43][44]

Mexico

Snow in a chair in Monterrey, Mexico, on February 14.

The winter storm strained the power grids in northern Mexico, leading to cascading blackouts for 4.7 million homes and businesses in Mexico.[1]

Canada

In Ontario, Snowfall warnings were issued in advance of the winter storm. Buses were cancelled across the Greater Toronto Area and schools were completely closed in Halton and Durham.[45] 20 centimetres (7.9 in) of snow fell in Windsor, 12 centimetres (4.7 in) at Pearson International Airport and 18 centimetres (7.1 in) fell in Ottawa. The highest totals in the region were the over 30 centimetres (12 in) that fell near St. Catherine's and Hamilton.[46]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time for consistency.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Brian K. Sullivan; Nauren S. Malick (February 16, 2021). "5 Million Americans Have Lost Power From Texas to North Dakota After Devastating Winter Storm". Time. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Yaron Steinbuch (February 17, 2021). "At least 21 dead as brutal cold from historic storm ravages Texas". New York Post. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Staff, KOCO (2021-02-15). "Man killed in crash involving semi-truck in northern Oklahoma". KOCO. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  4. ^ a b "Winter storm bearing down on central Ohio". Qfm96. February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Ron Brackett; Jan Wesner Childs (February 16, 2021). "Texas Officials Warn Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning; At Least 17 Deaths Tied to Winter Storm Uri". weather.com. The Weather Company. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Jonathan Erdman (February 13, 2021). "Major Winter Storm to Bring Significant Snow, Ice from Texas to Northeast into Early Next Week". weather.com. The Weather Company. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  7. ^ "WPC Surface Analysis for 02/13/21 at 09 UTC". Weather Prediction Center. February 13, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "WPC Surface Analysis for 02/14/21 at 00 UTC". Weather Prediction Center. February 14, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  9. ^ "WPC Surface Analysis for 02/15/21 at 03 UTC". Weather Prediction Center. February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  10. ^ "WPC Surface Analysis for 02/15/21 at 18 UTC". Weather Prediction Center. February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  11. ^ "WPC Surface Analysis for 02/16/21 at 09 UTC". Weather Prediction Center. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  12. ^ "WPC Surface Analysis for 02/17/21 at 00 UTC". Weather Prediction Center. February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  13. ^ Talal Ansari; Elizabeth Findell (February 16, 2021). "Winter Storm Creates Havoc Across the U.S." The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  14. ^ "WPC Surface Analysis for 02/17/21 at 09 UTC". Weather Prediction Center. February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  15. ^ "WPC Surface Analysis for 02/17/21 at 12 UTC". Weather Prediction Center. February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  16. ^ Rick Rojas; Marie Fazio (February 15, 2021). "At Least 120 Million Americans Are Bracing for Coast-to-Coast Storm". The New York Times. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  17. ^ "Two million? Five million? Real size of US blackouts a mystery". livemint.com. Mint. February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  18. ^ a b "Major Winter Storm Smashed Records in Texas, Spreading Snow, Damaging Ice From the South Into the Midwest, Northeast". weather.com. The Weather Company. February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  19. ^ "Hundreds of thousands without power in Northwest ice storm". AP NEWS. 2021-02-13. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  20. ^ "Extreme Winter Weather Causes U.S. Blackouts". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  21. ^ Steve Campion (February 12, 2021). "Crews prepare for icy roads ahead of potential winter storm". ABC13. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  22. ^ Kelly McLaughlin (February 15, 2021). "14 states face rolling blackouts amid massive winter storms, after a major US power grid declared an energy emergency". Insider. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  23. ^ Autullo, Ryan (15 February 2021). "'Basically we're stuck here': 40% of Austin Energy homes without power amid failed 'rotating blackouts'". Austin American-Statesman. Austin American Statesman. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  24. ^ Rojas, Rick (15 February 2021). "Live Updates: Winter Storm Barrels Across Huge Band of U.S." The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  25. ^ Rice, Doyle (15 February 2021). "150M people under winter advisories, 1 dead as 'unprecedented' storm stretches across 25 states; 3.5M without power in Texas". USA TODAY. USA Today. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  26. ^ Frank Heinz (February 16, 2021). "Gov. Abbott Says ERCOT 'Anything But Reliable' With Millions of Customers Powerless in Record Cold". KXAS-TV.
  27. ^ "Predators at Stars postponed due to extreme weather, power outages in Dallas area". Associated Press. ESPN. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Stars, Predators game scheduled for Tuesday postponed" (Press release). National Hockey League Public Relations. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  29. ^ "NHL statement on Dallas Stars" (Press release). National Hockey League Public Relations. February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  30. ^ Omar Villafranca (February 16, 2021). "Dangerous winter storm kills at least 11, leaves millions without power, mainly in Texas". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  31. ^ Staff, KOCO (12 February 2021). "Gov. Kevin Stitt declares winter weather State of Emergency for all 77 Oklahoma counties". KOCO. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  32. ^ akrherz@iastate.edu, daryl herzmann. "IEM :: PNS from NWS SHV". mesonet.agron.iastate.edu. Retrieved 17 February 2021.akrherz@iastate.edu, daryl herzmann. "IEM :: PNS from NWS AMA". mesonet.agron.iastate.edu. Retrieved 17 February 2021.akrherz@iastate.edu, daryl herzmann. "IEM :: PNS from NWS TSA". mesonet.agron.iastate.edu. Retrieved 17 February 2021.akrherz@iastate.edu, daryl herzmann. "IEM :: PNS from NWS OUN". mesonet.agron.iastate.edu. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  33. ^ Staff, KOCO (14 February 2021). "LIVE UPDATES: Crashes, dangerous road conditions reported as major snowstorm moves across Oklahoma". KOCO. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  34. ^ Staff, KOCO (14 February 2021). "Turner Turnpike closed in both directions in east Oklahoma City due to multi-vehicle crash". KOCO. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  35. ^ Staff, KOCO (14 February 2021). "WATCH: Lake Overholser dam frozen during Oklahoma winter storm". Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  36. ^ "SPC Severe Weather Event Review for Monday February 15, 2021". www.spc.noaa.gov. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  37. ^ Preliminary Local Storm Report (Report). Iowa Environmental Mesonet. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021. {{cite report}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  38. ^ Joe Sutton; Alisha Ebrahimji; Hollie Silverman (February 16, 2021). "3 people were killed and 10 more injured after a tornado struck a coastal North Carolina community". Cable News Network. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  39. ^ NWS Damage Survey for 02/15/2021 Tornado Event (Report). Iowa Environmental Mesonet. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021. {{cite report}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  40. ^ NWS Damage Survey for 02/15/2021 Tornado Event (Report). February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021. {{cite report}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  41. ^ NWS Tallahassee [@NWSTallahassee] (February 16, 2021). "Survey Update: NWS Meteorologists in Tallahassee have found preliminary EF-2 damage for the tornado that affected #Damascus, GA. This rating is not final as assessments are continuing. #GAwx" (Tweet). Retrieved February 16, 2021 – via Twitter.
  42. ^ Preliminary Local Storm Report (Report). Iowa Environmental Mesonet. February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021. {{cite report}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  43. ^ Preliminary Local Storm Report (Report). Iowa Environmental Mesonet. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021. {{cite report}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  44. ^ Patrick, Jessica. "Three people killed, 10 hurt, dozens of homes damaged in Brunswick tornado". WRAL. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  45. ^ "Snowstorm takes over the GTA and Southern Ontario - 680 NEWS". www.680news.com. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  46. ^ ECCC Weather Ontario [@ECCCWeatherON] (February 16, 2021). "A summary of last night's snow is now available. Read the full summary here: http://ow.ly/jidQ50DBRSa #ONStorm" (Tweet). Retrieved February 16, 2021 – via Twitter.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Winter Storm Uri.
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