User:Cyclonebiskit/Nor'easter

The Late December 2010 nor'easter was a large and powerful extratropical cyclone that produced snow across much of the Eastern United States. Hazardous road conditions brought on by the storm resulted in hundreds of car accidents across the United States, injuring more than 100 people and killing eight. The storm was also directly responsible for at least 12 fatalities and billions of dollars in economic losses.

Damage directly attributed to the storm was relatively light, amounting to $XX million. However, retailers across the northeast experienced severe revenue losses, estimated in excess of $1 billion. Additionally, the cleanup cost in New York and Massachusetts exceeded $34 million.

Meteorological history
The nor'easter was first identified as a weak low pressure area on December 23, 2010 over New Mexico. This system tracked westward and slowly intensified as it interacted with another upper-level feature over the Central United States. These systems later combined and the southern component became the dominant center, resulting in record snows for southern states. By December 25, the low moved into the Atlantic Ocean and turned towards the northwest, paralleling the United States East Coast. Throughout the evening of December 26 into the morning of December 27, the system rapidly intensified, with its central pressure decreasing to 961 mbar (hPa; 28.38 Inches of Mercury) by the time it brushed Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Bands of heavy snow impacted much of the Northeast, more significantly along the coast. By the late-morning, much of the system had passed, although snow lingered over parts of Maine before ceasing. Offshore, the storm produced near-hurricane force winds, estimated at 73 mph by satellites.

Watches and warnings
As the initial low began developing on December 24, much of the Central United States was placed under a winter storm watch and winter storm warnings were issued for northeastern Iowa. Prior to the full arrival of the storm, expansive winter storm warnings were issued from North Carolina to Maine and blizzard warnings were placed from New Jersey to Massachusetts.

Impact
Throughout the United States, the system produced snowfall across numerous states; however, the most substantial amounts fell in the Tri-State area along the East Coast. A storm maximum of 32 in fell in Rahway, New Jersey.

Midwestern states
As the system was developing, moderate to heavy snows fell from North Dakota to Mississippi between December 24 and 25. The heaviest amounts were recorded in northeastern Iowa, peaking at 12 in in Coggon. In Illinois, a maximum of 9.9 in fell in Beach Park during the overnight hours. Although relatively little snow fell in Indiana, the additional accumulations contributed to one of the state's snowiest December's on record, with the Indianapolis International Airport recording 16.6 in for the month.

Between December 24 and 25 hundreds of accidents took place in Minnesota due to snow or ice-covered roads. There were 335 instances in which cars drove off the road and 201 crashes in the state, resulting in 32 injuries. Similar conditions in North Dakota prompted officials to issue a travel alert in the state, advising residents to drive slowly and take their time. Nevertheless, more than a dozen accidents took place in the state; six rollovers and ten instances of cars driving off the road. One of the accidents injured two people on Interstate 29 near Fargo. A third person was injured in another crash after being ejected from his vehicle. Around Jamestown, several more accidents resulted in four injuries. By December 26, snowplows in the state were struggling to keep snowdrifts off the major roadways as strong southerly winds buffeted the area. Along U.S. Highway 2, these drifts resulted in a three-car accident, though no one was injured.

Owing to adequate warning time, Missouri transportation workers were able to keep most of the state's major roads clear. The state's entire snow removal force, comprised of 450 workers and 220 trucks were deployed to achieve this feat. This resulted in relatively few accidents in relation to the storm. In Michigan, a 5-year-old boy was killed in a head-on collision after the car he was in lost control on icy roads. Two other family members in the car were sent to a nearby hospital and said to be in critical condition. The other driver sustained only minor injuries. Slick roads resulted in another death in Indianapolis after a man lost control of his car and collided with a bridge, killing him on impact. The two passengers in the car were left with minor injuries. Near the arrival of the storm, a teenager drowned Indiana after the ice he and his friends were walking on gave out. A neighbor rescued the other two who were sent to the hospital.

Southern states
In eastern Kentucky, northern Tennessee and western Virginia, another center of heavy snow was present. In these regions, snow accumulated up to 8 in, resulting in the snowiest December on record for parts of Kentucky. Record daily snowfalls up to 5.5 in were measured in western Kentucky, leading to numerous travel disruptions. Substantial snows impacted much of northern Alabama on Christmas day, peaking at 6.5 in near Huntsville. Many areas recorded their first white Christmas's on record and trace accumulations reached as far south as Ozark in Dale County. In parts of Georgia, several areas recorded significant snows, in some cases over 4 in on Christmas day the first such occurrence in the region in over 100 years. Throughout much of the state, record daily snowfall took place; however, in many instances, there was no precedent of snow on December 25 and 26 in these areas. A maximum of 7.5 in of snow fell near Blairsville. In Atlanta, the city experienced its first measurable Christmas snow since 1881. North Carolina experienced two centers of heavy snow, one in the western counties and one in the central counties; these areas received between 12 to 18 in and 10 to 13 in of snow respectively.

In Kentucky, moderate to heavy snow combined with freezing rain resulted in treacherous road conditions. Transportation officials advised residents to avoid unnecessary travel through December 27 as many secondary roads remained covered in snow. The intermittent nature of the snowfall led to substantial usage of road salt, creating shortages in parts of eastern Kentucky. Near Lawrenceburg, a six car accident took place after a vehicle skidded on an icy bridge; 14 people were injured in the crash, though none were serious. Two people were killed in Loudon County, Tennessee after the vehicle they were in crashed with another, sending both cars spinning into the median.

In North Carolina, snowfall resulted in a double accident which left one person dead and three injured. Another accident in the state took place after a firetruck crashed into a tree, injuring three firefighters. In Asheville, a man was killed while trying to remove his car from the snow after it abruptly gained traction and rolled over him before becoming stuck again.

In Florida, the tail-end cold front of the storm brought substantially lower temperatures throughout the state and brought about freeze warnings for areas as far south as Tampa and Miami on December 27. Forecasts showed temperature dropping to levels close to the record-lows experienced earlier in the month. However, temperatures didn't reach this level and little additional losses took place in the citrus industry. In terms of tomatoes, one farm lost the remaining 40% of crops it had left following a 60% loss during a previous freeze. Temperatures in the area dropped to 30 F during the early morning hours of December 28.

Northeastern states
Throughout eastern Pennsylvania, moderate to heavy snows, along with winds up to 30 mph, created substantial disruptions. More than 400 vehicles were dispatched to distribute salt and keep roads clear in Philadelphia. Another 200 trucks were sent to the Lehigh Valley region to combat the storm. Areas in and around the city were placed under a snow emergency at the height of the storm. A "code blue" weather emergency was also issued, allowing police to bring the homeless into shelters during the storm. Aside from travel delays, there were scattered power outages across the state. At the end of the storm, Philadelphia recorded 12.4 in of snow, a substantial portion of the city's seasonal average of 19 in. In Kane, the additional snows resulted in the town recording its snowiest December on record, with 59.7 in falling during the month. Two fatalities took place in Pennsylvania after a car skidded on a snow-covered road and collided with another on the opposite line. The driver and front seat passenger of the car were killed and their two daughters were hospitalized but were later released and placed under the care of relatives.

In Verona, New York a man was killed after he lost control of his car on a slippery road and fell off the right side of the road, rolling over in a nearby field. In Connecticut, a woman died from hypothermia after being trapped in waist-deep snow while trying to climb over a snow bank. Alongside the heavy snows, the system produced strong winds across several states. These winds, peaking at 70 mph in Patchogue, New York, led to large snow drifts and numerous travel disruptions. According to Consolidated Edison (ConEd), 6,167 customers in Queens, New York and 1,811 in Westchester County, New York were without power due to the wind. National Grid plc also stated that 29,727 homes and businesses in New York and Massachusetts were without power. Along the coast of eastern Long Island, severe beach erosion took place as swells up to 17 ft along with a tidal surge of 3.5 ft battered the shore. Several homes were left with their foundations partially exposed and dump trucks were brought in to pour replacement sand to ensure structural stability. In one place, a 30 ft drop was left behind next to a home.

Prior to the storm's arrival in Rhode Island, governor Don Carcieri held frequent emergency meetings to keep up-to-date on the situation. The Command Readiness Center in Cranston was activated through December 27 and representatives from all 39 cities and towns in the state were present. The state's transportation department deployed 435 plows and used 650 pieces of winter equipment to keep roads clear. Much of Rhode Island experienced blizzard conditions as heavy snow and 50 mph winds created white-outs. The entire state received at least 10 in of snow, peaking at 16.7 in in Taunton. During the storm, the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge was shut down to high profile vehicles as winds made crossing the bridge dangerous. Only scattered power failures took place in the state, with National Grid reporting 600 outages.

Throughout the entire northeast, air travel was brought to a standstill as thousands of flights were canceled or delayed. At Philadelphia International Airport, roughly 600 flights were canceled on December 26, stranding an estimated 1,200 people. However, the following day, flight schedules returned to normal as the airport's four runways were reopened.

New Jersey
Throughout New Jersey, exceptionally heavy snow fell in relation to the storm. Along parts of the Atlantic coast, upwards of 30 in of snow fell and in combination with winds over 40 mph, large snow drifts built up along highways. At the height of the storm, drifts estimated up to 6 ft were present over parts of 10 mi stretch along State Routes 18, 34 and 138. Hundreds of vehicles were trapped on these roads and many people were forced to abandon them as rescuers could not reach the area quickly. Many state routes were shut down as plows could not keep them clean of snow.

According to police in New Jersey, two fatalities were blamed on the storm after suffering heart failures while walking through deep snow. A third person died after his car became stuck in a snow drift and he suffered a heart attack.

New York City
At the height of the storm, roughly 1,400 calls were made to 9-1-1 and hundreds of ambulances were dispatched; however, due to a lack of street plowing, it took an average of three hours for the ambulances to reach their destinations and 120 never made it as they got stuck in snow. In one instance, a 75-year-old woman died from breathing complications after an ambulance took over an hour to reach the home. Her daughter made several calls to 9-1-1 trying to get an answer on where the ambulance was, but received none. She later demanded a personal apology from New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg for her mother's death. During the overnight hours of December 27, the New York Police Department reached a calling backlog of 400 and the Fire Department of New York reached a backlog of 1,300. Along several of the major roadways in the city, thousands of vehicles became trapped and hundreds of residents were forced to abandon them. By the afternoon of December 28, more than 1,000 cars had been towed off the Van Wyck, Gowanus, and Cross Bronx Expressways. A total of 168 ambulances were also stranded during the storm and 40 remained trapped by that morning.

In Queens, a woman was killed in a five alarm fire after firefighters could not reach the building in time to combat the flames.

Responses
In Delaware, a state of emergency was declared for Sussex County from the evening of December 26 through the following evening, mainly to deter people from driving on dangerous roads.

Following the passage of the snow storm, officials in Philadelphia discontinued the snow emergency on December 27. During the course of the emergency, numerous vehicles were towed off emergency snow routes and residents were told to call 3-1-1 to pick up their cars if they were towed. Trash and recycling pick ups were put on hold until January 3, 2011.

Across much of eastern New Jersey, roads and highways were shut down as they became covered with large snow drifts. Police resorted to using helicopters to keep track of vehicles trapped along highways as road crews struggled to reach them. Along one highway, more than 60 cars were trapped in snow drifts. According to the state's department of transportation 427 agency-owned and 1,300 contractor-owned trucks, plows and spreaders were deployed to clear roads; however, despite these efforts, the rate of clearing was unusually slow and prompted much criticism from residents trapped in their homes for several days. In some instances, residents worked together to get their street cleared after plows did not come through two days after the storm. In response to the vast outcry for plowing from New Jersey residents, public works manager Steven J. Seiler stated that this was the worst storm the state has had to deal with during his 15 years of work. The lack of plowing was most apparent in Ocean Grove where the local office of emergency management utilized snowmobiles to rescue people trapped in their homes.

New York City
In New York City, there was widespread criticism over the insufficient response to clearing roads. Throughout the city, block roads resulted in several fatalities, including a newborn baby who was birthed in the lobby of an apartment building. Numerous roads across the region remained un-plowed, leaving cars trapped and business closed. This resulted in billions of dollars in losses in New York City alone. Rumors surfaced that many workers were upset that they would be demoted on January 1, 2011 and were "given the green light" not to do their work. The city's government later followed up on these rumors by undergoing an investigation of the sanitation department; however, Joseph Mannion, president of the Sanitation Officers Association, strongly argued that the department did nothing wrong. This fueled further anger from thousands of residents trapped in their homes. Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued a public statement saying that the slow response by the sanitation department was "inadequate and unacceptable." Union leaders were later charged with negligent homicide for the deaths of at least two people, including the newborn child.

According to mayor Bloomberg, the sanitation department was in full-force by the morning of December 28; 2,000 workers and 1,700 trucks were deployed. Additional cleanup assistance was brought in by the State Parks department, providing another 800 workers and 198 vehicles. The New York Police Department sent out 40 tow trucks along with more than 100 others from private groups to remove disabled vehicles. The city's department of environmental protection also deployed 24 vehicles, consisting of dump trucks and snow plows. The total cost to clean up the snow amounted to $20 million.

It was not until December 31, that mass transit was fully operational and on-time, though many bus stops remained covered in snow and ice. For more than a week, garbage collection was halted as plows slowly cleared city roads. On January 1, 2011, it was announced that garbage collection would resume on January 3. In terms of economic losses, retailers lost roughly $1 billion in after Christmas sales as shops were closed on the following Monday, and in some cases several days longer.