The Winter of 2014-15
Part I – Overview
Tom Niziol
Winter Weather Expert - The Weather Channel
The winter of 2014-15 served up some wild
weather extremes but depending on where
you lived in the U.S. they were at opposite
ends of the spectrum. While parts of the West
experienced some of their warmest and least
snowy conditions on record, the East
meanwhile suffered through one of the
snowiest and at times coldest winters on
record. No less than 22 named winter storms
impacted the U.S. The image at the right is a
NASA MODIS image of the snow cover across
the Northeast the day after winter storm
LINUS hit New England with nearly 3 feet of
Figure 1: NASA MODIS image for February 3, 2015 showing
snow.
the fresh snow cover across the Northeast
Much of this dichotomy had to do with the overall position of the jet stream across North America.
Figure 2 shows the 500mb height and anomaly for the meteorological winter, or December through
February. Note how much stronger the ridge/trof couplet across N. America was compared to normal.
Figure 2: 500mb Height (left) and anomaly (right) for the period Dec 1, 2014 through Feb 28th 2015.
As a result of the more pronounced, or meridional,
ridge/trof combination, the winter temperatures
were much warmer overall in the Southwest and
much colder in the Northeast. Those temperature
anomalies are shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Surface temperature anomaly for the period
Dec 1. 2014 through Feb 28th, 2015
Even before winter officially began however, much
of the U.S. was hit with a round of very cold
temperatures and in one particular part of the
nation, very heavy snowfall. This was due in part,
of all things, to a tropical weather system.
Typhoon Nuri, which reached the level of a
category 5 typhoon in the tropical Pacific, moved
into the higher latitudes of the North Pacific in
early November, resulting in one of the worst
storms on record to move through the Bering Sea.
That system had a significant impact on the weather pattern downstream across North effectively
buckling the upper air jet stream to produce an enhanced ridge over western North America and a deep
trof in the East. Figure 4 shows the 500mb pattern in the first week of November and the resulting
pattern for the 10 days afterwards. Look at how that ridge built up over the west coast of North
America as the energy from Nuri worked its way eastward across the continent.
Nov 1-7, 2014
Nov 8-20, 2014
Figure 4: 500mb Heights for the period Nov 1-7, 2014 (left) and Nov 8-20, 2014 (right).
As a result, surface temperatures were much
colder than normal for that time of the year
across the U.S. as shown in Figure 5. This was put
into perspective in a great blog by Chris Burt,
Weather Channel Historian, as he discussed
change in temperature at Cheyenne, Wyoming
from early to mid-November. “It was the coldest
November since 2000 for the contiguous U.S.
(and 16th coldest on record) thanks to an
exceptional arctic outbreak in the middle of the
month. In Casper, Wyoming the temperature fell
to -27°F (-32.8°C) on November 12th, its coldest
on record for November. Amazingly, this was a
drop of some -99°F (55°C) between November
1st, when the temperature peaked at 72°F
(22.2°C) tying the record for warmest November Figure 5: Surface temperature anomaly across the U.S.
temperature ever observed in the city to during the time frame from Nov 8-20, 2014
November 12th when the monthly record low
occurred.”
I would be remiss if I did not mention what some would call the biggest snowfall of the season for a
populated area, that is the major lake-effect snow storm that hammered the suburbs just to the south
of Buffalo, NY during the week before Thanksgiving. The lake-effect snow was due in part to the
unseasonably cold air that set up over the Great Lakes due to the arctic outbreak. Two successive bouts
of snow off a relatively warm and ice free Lake Erie produced phenomenal snowfall totals of as much as
70” in some places. The storm shut down a 132 mile stretch of the New York State Thruway and was
accompanied by several rounds of lightning and snowfall rates as high as 6” per hour !! Figure 6 shows
the total snowfall from this mesoscale snow storm and a view of the cloud band in all of its glory cutting
across the south side of the city of Buffalo, NY.
Figure 6: Storm total snowfall (left) and a photo of the cloud band over the city of Buffalo (right) for the 2-part
lake-effect snow storm that pummeled Western New York in November, 2014.
The winter pattern across the eastern U.S. relaxed somewhat during December and early January.
However, winter really came in with a vengeance by mid to late January. During the late January
through February time frame the meridional upper air pattern became most pronounced, resulting in
the coldest conditions in decades for much of the Northeast. The 500mb height field and the associated
surface temperature departure for the month of February is shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7: February 2015 composite mean 500mb heights (left) and surface temperature anomaly (right)
For parts of the Lower Great Lakes and New England the time frame from the last week of January
through all of February produced some of the greatest total snowfall and coldest temperatures on
record, many of which go back well over 100 years. In the West the opposite was true. The February
state average temperature rankings in Figure 8 reveal the entire Northeast experienced their 2nd
coldest February on record while at the same time out West they experienced their warmest February.
The February average temperature rankings for selected cities are also shown below in Table 1.
Figure 8: Statewide average temperature rankings for February 2015, for the period 1895-2015.
February 2015 Cold Ranking
February 2015 Warm Ranking
Table 1: February 2015 average monthly temperature rankings for the East/Cold and West/Warm
The seasonal snowfall exhibited a similar pattern to temperature between the West and Northeast. As
an example, while the Sierra through Cascades and Wasatch experienced very low to record low snow
pack conditions this past winter, some eastern locations saw their snowiest winters on record. Figure 9
shows the 2014-15 seasonal snowfall in relation to above or below the normal for several cities across
the U.S. For the most part, locations west of the Mississippi were below normal while to the east were
above normal. Some exceptions were along the Front Range of the Rockies where a couple upslope
flow events provided locally heavy snowfall. In addition, a series of snow storms in the mid-February
through March time frame followed a southern track that favored snow for the Southern Plains in
locations like Texas and Oklahoma.
Figure 9: 2014-15 seasonal snowfall above (red) or below (blue) normal for selected
U.S. cities. ** Note percentages were rounded to the nearest 10%.
The Northeast exhibited some amazing snowfall stats. Notable locations include Boston MA, where they
set a seasonal snowfall record of 110.6”, surpassing their old mark of 107.6” set back in the winter of
1995-96. Much of New England set snowfall records as well. In Eastport ME, 132.5” of snow fell in only
a 5-week period from late January through February with the snow depth topping out at over 6 ft. or
78.5”! Providence had the snowiest season on record at 76.2” and February was their 2nd snowiest
month ever. Worcester set a record at 119.7” blowing away their previous record of 86.7”. In Bangor
the seasonal total of 139.0” was the second highest but the snow depth actually got as high as 50” in
late February. Those incredible depths were a result of the cold air that was locked in across New
England for all of February, not allowing any snow melt. Some notable snowfalls are shown below in
Table 2.
Table 2: 2014-15 winter seasonal snowfall and departure from normal for select locations across the U.S.
The Weather Channel names winter storms
anticipated to have significant impact on the
U.S. at a level of at least 2 million population
or an area that covers at least 400,000 sq. km.
Though not as prolific in terms of named
storms as our two previous seasons, the
winter of 2014-15 produced 22 named storms,
compared to 26 named storms for the 201314 season and 27 storms in 2012-13 as shown
in Figure 10.
To get significant snowfall you need two main
ingredients, temperatures that are cold
enough to produce snow, and enough
moisture that can be lifted into the
atmosphere to be wrung out in the form of
Figure 10: Comparison of winter storms named by The
precipitation. That lift is generated on a large Weather Channel for the past 3 winter seasons.
scale by Low pressure systems that track along
the cold air.
The track of these major winter systems determines the type of wintry weather and the amount of snow
that falls. Figure 11 shows all named storm tracks for the 2014-15 season. It is somewhat complicated
to follow these tracks but there are some lessons we can take from plotting them.
Figure 11: Tracks of all 22 named winter storms for the 2014-15 winter season.
The Northeast was much snowier than normal, a result of some very juicy storms systems that moved
through cold air on a track just south of New England which is a favorable track for heavy snow. The
Midwest through Great Lakes also had significant snowfall. However, the Upper Midwest, including
population centers from Milwaukee through Minneapolis had much less snowfall than normal. Their
typical big snow producers are storms that originate from Colorado through Oklahoma, which often tap
Gulf moisture then transport it northward into colder air. This past season the storms were more of the
Clipper variety, coming out of Canada or the Northern Rockies. The Clippers are typically moisture
starved and produce little snow until they get closer to the East Coast, where they can tap Atlantic
moisture. The West of course had that huge ridge in place through the entire winter keeping most
systems from tracking across the area to produce snow.
In the East, there were some fascinating “stories within the story” during the winter of 2014-15. I have
separated part of the winter season into two sub-categories, a period that extended from late January
to mid-February and one that extended from mid-February through early March. During the late
January through mid-February period, when places like Boston and Eastport tallied up so much snowfall,
no less than 5 separate storms impacted New England. Around February 12th, the overall large scale
weather pattern changed somewhat across the nation as the ridge/trof couplet intensified, becoming
even more meridional. The ridge built farther north and retrograded a bit and the trof over the eastern
U.S. as shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12: 500mb composite height for the period Jan 15 - Feb 12 (left) and Feb 13 - Mar 5 (right). Notice how the
ridge retrograded and built and in response the trof deepened into the Southeast U.S.
This pattern resulted in two impacts; it pushed colder air much deeper south across the entire eastern
half of the nation, and it drove the storm track much farther south with Lows developing off the
Southern Rockies then moving through the Southeastern U.S. As a result, areas from the South through
the Tennessee Valley were impacted by several winter systems. In Lexington, KY two separate storms,
one in mid-February and another in early March combined to produce some record snowfalls. During
Octavia 17.1” of snow fell in less than 2 days making this the heaviest two-day snow storm on record. It
was the 6th snowiest winter, the 3rd snowiest February and 2nd snowiest March on record. In addition
the temperature dropped as low as -18F on February 20th making it the 2nd coldest February day on
record. Farther south in Texas, Dallas experienced 3 snow events in February and another in March. A
comparison of the tracks before Valentine’s Day and after are shown in Figures 13.
Jan 15 – Feb 12, 2015
Feb 13 – Mar 5, 2015
Figure 13: Named winter storm tracks for the period Jan 15 - Feb 12, 2015 (left) and Feb 13 - Mar 5, 2015 (right)
By mid-March the cold air retreated northward into Canada and the winter had pretty much abated
across the continental U.S. However, even in May, a cold Upper Low moving from California across the
Central Rockies put down nearly 2 feet of snow in parts of Colorado, South Dakota and Nebraska.
So in summary I would say the winter of 2014-15 across the continental U.S. was almost polar opposite
depending on whether you lived in the East or West. In particular a favorable storm track from midJanuary through mid-February in the Northeast resulted in significant to record snowfall accumulating
and from mid-February through early March, a very deep Upper level trof ensured an abundance of cold
air which resulted in a lengthy period of high impact weather conditions consisting of deep snow pack
and very cold temperatures. In a nutshell, the Northeast suffered from a long and severe period of
wintry weather. In the West however, very little snowfall and record warmth not only significantly cut
the ski season for many, it had much greater impacts on places like already drought stricken California.
Go to Part II of the winter summary for 2014-15 where you can find each of the named storm tracks, the
approximate coverage of snowfall and some interesting stats and summaries for every event.
Winter 2014-15 Summary – Part II
Named Storm Tracks and Associated Snowfall
Below are the tracks of the surface Lows for the 23 named storms for the 2014-15 season. I have
overlaid those tracks onto the NOHRSC snowfall analysis for either the 48 or 72 hour period at the heart
of each storm. In addition, I have listed some of the top impacts associated with each storm. Finally,
there is a link to the summary for each storm from The Weather Channel’s web site weather.com.
Astro – 11/9 – 11/12 Upper Midwest event, potent November arctic outbreak
- St. Cloud MN 13.2”, broke all-time November calendar-day record of 12.0 “ set Nov. 21, 1898.
- Michigan: 42.5” near Ishpeming in the Upper Peninsula.
- Wisconsin: 27.6” at Saxon in Iron County, north-central Wisconsin.
- Minnesota: 16.5” at St. Augusta and at Cambridge in the Twin Cities metro.
- Montana: 14.0” at Big Mountain Summit, Whitefish Ski Resort (elevation 6,737 feet)
- Wyoming: 11.3” near Lander.
- South Dakota: 9” east-northeast of Sisseton.
- North Dakota: 8” near Bowman in southwest North Dakota.
- Colorado: 6.0” near Phippsburg in northwest Colorado.
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-astro-snow-forecast-midwest-20141109
Bozeman – 11/13 – 11/17 long swath of snow from the Pacific Northwest through Rockies, Plains,
Midwest and parts of the Northeast. 1051mb High produced damaging easterly gap winds down
Columbia River Gorge as well.
- 33” Colorado just outside Ouray.
- 32.2” Wyoming: at Grassy Lake SNOTEL (elevation 7,265 feet)
- 28.5” Idaho at Vienna Mine SNOTEL (elevation 8,963 feet)
- 21.4” Montana at Black Bear SNOTEL (elevation 8,150 feet)
- 19” (with 0.5 inch ice accumulation) in Prineville in central Oregon.
- 15.8” Utah at Garden City Summit SNOTEL (elevation 7,600 feet)
- 15” Washington near White Salmon, in far southern Washington.
- 15” New Mexico: 15” near Angel Fire and near Black Lake.
- 7-8” MN, SD, NE
- 5-6” OH, IA, IN, KY, PA, IL, OK
- 3-4” MO, KS, TX, AR, ME, VT
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-bozeman-forecast-oregon-idahowashington-wyoming-colorado-20141113
Cato - 11/25 – 11/26 - Thanksgiving Day storm for the East. Over a foot of snow for Upstate NY through
Interior New England. Huge travel impacts in the East due to the holiday.
- 20” of snow for parts of eastern West Virginia
- 4,700 Flight cancellations
- 90,000 without power in Maine, 470,000 New York and 10,000 Pennsylvania
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-cato-thanksgiving-travel-east-coast-2014
Damon – 12/10 – 12/12 Slow moving Nor’easter, reinvigorated with a second impulse.
- ¼” ice early on in NJ/MA
- Over 2’ snow near Syracuse and the Hig Peaks of the Adirondacks in Upstate NY.
- Well over a foot for Interior New England
- Strong winds exceeding 60mph along coastal MA and some coastal flooding
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-damon-northeast-forecast-snow
Eris – 12/25 – 12/27 - long track Christmas storm brought significant snow from Montana through
Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Nebraska as well as the Upper Midwest.
- 30” near Roscoe, Montana
13.5” near Galena, Idaho
12” in Chama, New Mexico
15” in Grand Mesa, Colorado
13.9” near Pocatello, Idaho
10” in West Glacier, Montana
6” in St. Paul, Minnesota
6” in Lawton, Oklahoma
4.2” near North Platte, Nebraska
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-eris-forecast-rockies-plains-midwest
Frona 12/27 – 01/04 Very long track storm from Pacific Northwest through Southern Rockies, Southern
plains and Central to Northern Plains. Major freezing rain event for Montreal Canada 2nd half of storm.
- 28” Santiam Pass OR, 20” Alta UT,
- Downslope winds to near 80mph UT and California
- 17” Flagstaff, snow in Las Vegas
- Freezing rain and sleet TX, 4-6” snow Central Plains
- Blizzard conditions parts of N. Dakota
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-frona-forecast-west-plains-midwest
Gorgon 01/04 – 01/06 Very fast moving long track storm, from Pacific Northwest through Northern
Rockies, Midwest and Northeast.
- 45.6” snow Grand Targhee WY Tetons, 28.5” MT and 20.1” ID
- 6-8” from ND, SD, MN, IA, IL, WI, IN, OH
- 4” Washington DC, 2-3” BWI and 1” PHI
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-gorgon-snowstorm-clipper-wind-chill
Hektor 1/9 – 1/12 – Mainly ice event from the Southern Plains through Midwest.
- Winter storm warnings for San Antonio.
- Freezing rain OK, AR, SE MO.
- Mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain Southern Great Lakes.
http://www.weather.com/forecast/regional/news/winter-storm-hektor-ice-sleet-snow-south-eastjan2015
Iola 1/21 – 1/24 Two-part storm. Southern Plains to Northeast, storm bombed off the New England
Coast. Very heavy snow for higher elevations of New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle.
- 24 inches near Bonito Lake, New Mexico
- 16 inches near Edgewood, New Mexico
- 13 inches reported near Amarillo, Texas
- 11.5 inches reported near Colorado Springs, Colorado
- 5.5” Boston
- 2.5” Central Park, 2” Philadelphia
- Some coastal flooding in MA
Part I
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-iola-forecast-southwest-southern-plains
Part II
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-iola-forecast-northeast-snow-dc-phillynyc-boston
Juno 1/26 – 1/28 Major winter storm for the Northeast. First of several for Boston. 3 ft. of snow in
parts of New England. Coastal flooding with 60-80 mph gusts in MA. Huge snow gradient from Long
Island where 30” fell to NYC where 9.8” occurred.
- 36” Lundenburg MA
- 33.2” Nashua, NH
- 24.4” Boston MA
- 19.1” Providence RI
- 9.8” Central Park
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-juno-snow-totals-wind-gusts
Kari 1/29 – 2/1 Fast moving Clipper, Upper Level part of this system moved from northwest to
southeast across New England
- 4-6” Lower Michigan through New York
- 10-11” Lewiston ME
- 9” Randolph, NH
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-kari-snow-forecast
Linus 1/30 – 2/2 Major, long track storm dumped snow from the Central Plains through Lower Great
Lakes to New England. Near record snow storm for population centers like Chicago and Detroit.
- 20” Kalamazoo, MI
- 16.7” Detroit, MI (3rd heaviest snow storm on record)
- 19.3” Chicago (5th heaviest snowfall on record)
- Blizzard warnings were issued for Chicago in this storm
- 11.3” Des Moines IA, 11” MO, 10” NE
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-linus-reports-how-much-snow
Marcus 2/6 – 2/10 – Another northwest through southeast moving storm that hammered New
England/Boston with heavy snow. Massachusetts State of Emergency
- 23.3” Boston
- 29” Rockland MA
- 17” Princetown, NY
- 21.5” Woodford, MA
- 18.5” Weare, NH
- 13.5” Winsted CT
- 16.1” North Foster, RI
- 18” Newburyport, ME
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-marcus-reports-how-much-snow
Neptune 2/14 - 2/15 Last in a series of major snow storms for Boston. Record setting snowfall and very
cold wind chills for this northwest to southeast moving Clipper.
- 27.2” Robbinston, ME
- 16.2” Boston
- Strong offshore winds dropped water level in Chesapeake Bay nearly 3 ft.
- Widespread strong west wind across Carolinas produced 200,000+ power outages.
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-neptune-photos
Octavia 2/15 – 2/18 – first in a series of southern track snow storms that extended from the Central and
Southern Plains through the Tennessee Valley. Kentucky gets very heavy snow.
- 18” Coleman KY
- 5-7” snow in New England and parts of Mid-Atlantic, 5.3” Washington Zoo.
- 17” Virginia Mts., 15” W. Virginia
- 12-13” Illinois, Missouri
- 8” Ohio, Indiana
- ¾” ice accumulation in Tennessee, 300,000 without power
- ½” ice northern GA, significant tree damage there
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-octavia-impacts
Pandora 2/19 – 2/21 – Next in a series of southern track winter storms that brought impacts from
Missouri through the Tennessee Valley to the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Worst icing to hit Middle
Tennessee/Cumberland Plateau in 20 years.
- 24” Rainelle WV
- 19” Jonesville VA
- 13” Harrison OH
- 11.8” Springfield IL
- ½ to 1” ice accumulation parts of Tennessee
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-pandora-snow-ice-south-midwestnortheast-rockies-forecast
Quantum 2/21 – 2/24 – Southern track storm brought an icy mix from the Central Rockies through the
South then to the Northeast. Denver picked up 10” from this storm. Dallas got thundersleet from the
storm. Atlanta received ice and snow accumulated across the Carolinas.
- I-40 pileup near Amarillo involved over 2 dozen vehicles
- 39” Wolf Creek Pass CO, 25” Telluride, 15” Boulder
- 24” Red River Ski Area NM, 13” Chama Ski Area
- 9” Kansas, 5-6” northern Texas and Oklahoma
- 1-2” sleet and ¼-1/2” ice LA, MS, AR, GA
- I-95 Pileup in Maine involved 40 cars
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-quantum-texas-southern-plains-snow-ice
Remus 2/24 – 2/26 Southern track storm that brought one of the heaviest snowfalls on record for parts
of Alabama and Mississippi. Several locations in Alabama topped 10” of snow.
- Weight of snow produced 216,000 power outages from Alabama through Virginia
- 7.3” Tupelo MS (second greatest calendar day snowfall on record)
- 8.2” Huntsville, AL 4th heaviest snow storm on record)
- 12.7” Guin AL
- 10” Furrs MS
- 9” Ringgold GA
- 10” Conway NC
- 8” Franklin VA
- 7” Vienna MD
http://www.weather.com/news/news/winter-storm-remus-minute-by-minute
Sparta 2/27 – 3/1 –Long swath of snow and ice from the Rockies to the Southern Plains, Midwest and the
East Coast. Dallas gets hit for a second time in a week with wintry weather. Albuquerque gets 9.6” from
the combination of Sparta and the next storm Thor. Missouri through central Illinois and Indiana got 6-8”
of snow.
12” Wagon Mound, NM
6” Cottondale TX
7” Skiatook OK
10” Lane IL, Frankfort IN
4” Odell AR
8.5” Quincy OH
5” Newell WV
¼” ice Washington DC near the zoo
5-7” snow NY, RI, MA, CT
2-3” snow NH, VT, ME
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-sparta-midwest-northeast-west
Thor 2/28 – 3/5 – Very long-lived two-part storm that tracked from the West through the Rockies,
Midwest through South and Northeast. Record setting snow for Kentucky with 20-25” in some
locations. Record 2-day snow storm at Lexington KY. Major stranding of motorists on I-65 in KY. Huge
snows in the mountains of the West. By some counts 38 states were impacted by significant snow and
ice from this storm.
- 54.6” Schofield Pass CO (partially from Sparta as well)
- 49” Buckboard Flat UT
- 32” Squaw Valley CA
- 24” Diamond Peak Ski Resort NV
- 21” Taos Ski Are NM
- 18” Casper Mt. WY
- 25” Radcliff KY
- 13” Union City TN (sleet as well)
- 11” IL, IN, AR
- 7” Grapevine TX
- 1-3” sleet across the south
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-thor-snow-ice-reports
Ultima 3/19 - 3/21 Quick-hitting late season East Coast storm that brought snowfall to the east from
Maryland through Southern New England. Not a major storm.
-
8.3” New Canaan, Connecticut
7.3” Lynnport, Pennsylvania
7.1” Morrisville, Pennsylvania
7” Whiting, New Jersey
7” Rocky Point, New York
6.7” McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey
6” Cascade, Maryland
5.3” Islip, New York
5” Mount Sinai, New York
4.6” LaGuardia Airport in New York
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-ultima-northeast-spring-snow-forecast
Venus 5/9 – 5/11 Very late season Mother’s Day storm for the Rockies in particular. Blizzard warnings in
effect for parts of the Black Hills.
- 15.6” Rapid City SD
o Heaviest Snow storm so late in the season
o Second heaviest May snow storm overall
- 19” Lead SD
- 24” Fort Robinson NE
- 9” Aurora CO
- 5.6” Flagstaff
- 4” Denver
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-venus-snow-mothers-day-weekend