December 2010 Storm Data Publication
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DECEMBER 2010 VOLUME 52 NUMBER 12 STORM DATA AND UNUSUAL WEATHER PHENOMENA WITH LATE REPORTS AND CORRECTIONS NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION noaa NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE, DATA AND INFORMATION SERVICE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER, ASHEVILLE, NC Cover: This cover represents a few weather conditions such as snow, hurricanes, tornadoes, heavy rain and flooding that may occur in any given location any month of the year. (Photo courtesy of NCDC.) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Outstanding Storm of the Month…....………………..........……..…………..…….……...….............4 Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena......…….…....…………...…...........….........................6 Reference Notes.............……...........................……….........…..….….............................................234 STORM DATA (ISSN 0039-1972) National Climatic Data Center Editor: Joseph E. Kraft Assistant Editor: Rhonda Herndon STORM DATA is prepared, and distributed by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena narratives and Hurricane/Tropical Storm summaries are prepared by the National Weather Service. Monthly and annual statistics and summaries of tornado and lightning events resulting in deaths, injuries, and damage are compiled by the National Climatic Data Center and the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Storm Prediction Center. STORM DATA contains all confirmed information on storms available to our staff at the time of publication. Late reports and corrections will be printed in each edition. Except for limited editing to correct grammatical errors, the data in Storm Data are published as received. Note: “None Reported” means that no severe weather occurred and “Not Received” means that no reports were received for this region at the time of printing. Subscription, pricing, and ordering information is available from: NCDC Subscription Services 310 State Route 956 Building 300 Rocket Center, WV 26726 (866) 742-3322 Toll Free The editor of STORM DATA solicit your help in acquiring photographs (prints or slides; black and white, or color), maps, clippings, etc. of significant or severe weather events (past or present) for use in the “Outstanding Storms of the Month’’ section of STORM DATA. We request our subscribers or other interested persons to mail such items to: Storm Data National Climatic Data Center 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801 e-mail: [email protected] Any such items received by the editor will be for use in STORM DATA only. Any other use will be with the permission of the owner of said items. Materials will be returned if requested. This is an official publication of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is compiled from information received at the National Climatic Data Center Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5001. Thomas R. Karl Director, National Climatic Data Center 2 December 2010 - Confirmed Tornadoes ® EF SCALE EF0 EF1 EF2 EF3 Number of Tornadoes EF4 EF5 EF0 EF1 EF2 EF3 EF4 EF5 Total 12 10 5 5 0 0 32 Miles 0100 200 400 600 800 1,000 OUTSTANDING STORM OF THE MONTH New Years Eve: 3 Tornadoes & 4 Dead in 3 Contiguous Missouri Counties Between the evening of the 30th and the morning of the 31st of December 2010, two separate lines of thunderstorms produced significant severe weather across southwest Missouri including damaging wind, large hail, and deadly tornadoes. The first round of storms lifted out of Arkansas late on the evening of the 30th and the second round moved out of western Kansas shortly before daybreak on the 31st. By mid-morning a strong tornado (which was later determined by a NWS storm survey team to be an EF3) occurred over Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County. Numerous homes were destroyed on the east side of the base. A total of 159 homes were damaged with 41 destroyed Left: An EF-3 tornado passing by the Fort Leonard Wood airport on December 31, 2010. and 32 others sustaining significant damage. Extensive to moderate damage occurred to numerous military training areas, moderate damage occurred to installation utility systems, and extensive damage occurred in one installation family housing area. The water treatment plant on the base was severely damaged when the building’s second level was completely razed. The tornado also disrupted the base's power supply system and damaged gas lines. Four injuries were reported. Damage in Pulaski County was estimated to be about $90 million dollars. As that one was ending just after 10AM, another EF3 tornado occurred north of Rolla in Phelps County. The heaviest damage there occurred between state Highway E and County Road 8040. Two single wide mobile homes were completely destroyed --with their debris thrown “upstream” while their frames were detached. Two fatalities occurred in one of these homes. A two story home had all but its interior walls destroyed. Several cars were thrown with one vehicle thrown over the destroyed home. Minor to moderate roof and tree damage occurred at various locations from near the starting point up to Highway 63 north of Rolla. There was primarily tree damage between Highway 63 and Highway 68. 4 While the tornado in Phelps County was happening, an EF1 tornado occurred in Dent County. This tornado was estimated to be 100 yards wide along County Road 2050 near Lecoma with estimated winds of 90 to 100 mph. Several structures had extensive damage or were destroyed along its path including a mobile home near Lecoma where 2 fatalities occurred. The tornado tracked approximately 1.5 miles before entering into rural southern Phelps County. The width of its path enlarged to around a quarter mile wide near County Road 179. The tornado ended around County Road 154 as an EF-0 about 50 yards wide. The tornado also downed several trees and damaged power lines in Phelps County. Overall damage in that county from the two tornadoes was estimated to be over $1 million dollars. Dent County’s damage was estimated to be just less than half that amount. 5 Time Path Path Number of Estimated December 2010 Local/ Length Width Persons Damage Location Date Standard (Miles) (Yards) Killed Injured Property Crops Character of Storm ALABAMA, Central ALZ028-036>038- Barbour - Chambers - Clay - Coosa - Elmore - Lee - Lowndes - Macon - Montgomery - Pike - Randolph - 042>045-047-049> Tallapoosa 050 01 0000CST 31 0600CST 0 0 0.00K 0.00K Drought With below normal precipitation during the month of December, ongoing drought conditions persisted across a portion of Central Alabama through the month of December. The hardest hit area continues to be portions of eastern Alabama, from extreme eastern Elmore county and extreme northern Macon county northeastward across portions of Lee, Tallapoosa, and Chambers counties, where Extreme (D3) drought conditions were identified by the U.S. Drought Monitor. ALZ011>014-017> Autauga - Blount - Bullock - Calhoun - Chambers - Cherokee - Chilton - Coosa - Dallas - Elmore - Etowah 020-022>027-029- - Fayette - Jefferson - Lamar - Lee - Marion - Montgomery - Pickens - Pike - Randolph - Russell - Shelby - 035>036-038-040> St. Clair - Talladega - Tuscaloosa - Winston 041-043>044-046> 049 15 0500CST 1630CST 0 0 0.00K 0.00K Winter Weather Moisture increased ahead of a weak storm system on Wednesday, December 15, 2010, across Central Alabama. Temperatures near or below freezing at the surface resulted in widespread freezing rain and sleet beginning around sunrise and lasting through most of the day. Although precipitation was light, ice quickly accumulated on area roadways, causing hazardous driving conditions, numerous vehicle accidents, and road closures. Hazardous driving conditions due to ice on the roadway persisted well after precipitation moved out of the area, with many counties maintaining road closures for extended periods of time. ALZ011-014-017> Blount - Calhoun - Cherokee - Clay - Cleburne - Etowah - Lamar - Marion - Randolph - St. Clair - 021-026>029 Talladega - Winston 25 0400CST 1900CST 0 0 0.00K 0.00K Heavy Snow A surface low in the northern Gulf of Mexico along with an upper level disturbance moving southeastward from the Great Plains contributed to heavy snowfall on Christmas Day in Alabama, resulting in the first White Christmas for much of the area. Precipitation began during the early morning hours in northwest Central Alabama and spread eastward through the day. Many locations saw precipitation begin as rain and change over to snow. In some places, this change over was brief. In others, warm ground conditions caused snowfall to melt on contact, preventing significant accumulation. Snowfall totals ranged from a trace as far south as Troy to 4.00 inches in several locations across north Central Alabama. In many locations, snowfall up to 1.5 inches accumulated on grassy surfaces, not causing any inconvenience to travel or threat to life or property. ALZ014-017>021- Blount - Calhoun - Cherokee - Clay - Cleburne - Etowah - Jefferson - Randolph - Shelby - St. Clair - 023>029-037 Talladega - Tallapoosa - Tuscaloosa - Winston 26 0200CST 1500CST 0 0 0.00K 0.00K Winter Weather As a strong upper low moved across the area, flurries and bands of light snowfall developed during the early morning hours on December 26th, affecting much of Central Alabama through the day. Flurries as far south as Troy, one inch accumulations across northwest Central Alabama, and a dusting at many locations in between were reported. Gusty northwesterly winds combined