Updated Jan. 4, 2020 7:40 AM
A major snowstorm toured the United States this week, making stops across the central and northeastern parts of the country and wreaking havoc along the way. Meanwhile, a plan for New Year's Eve fireworks didn't work out as anticipated, drivers had to dig themselves out of an extraordinary mess and some package deliveries might not have arrived on schedule — and strong winds were the culprit. Here's a look back at the final week of the last decade.
The year 2019 ended on a stormy note as snow and ice slammed Wisconsin to Maine between last weekend and early this past week. After leaving its mark on the central U.S. in the form of snowfall, wind and ice, it headed farther east, where it caused travel headaches on the roads and at airports.
The final Monday of the year was not a great day to be traveling to or from Chicago O'Hare International Airport, where more than 500 flights were delayed due to the storm, FlightAware reported. As the storm hit the Northeast, Boston’s Logan International Airport travelers had to endure 150-plus flight delays.
About .4 inches of ice had coated this branch by early Sunday, Dec. 30, in Plainfield, Massachusetts.
Glazed-over roadways triggered a number of accidents in New Hampshire, but the good news is that there weren’t any reported injuries. In Massena, New York, around .86 inches of ice accumulated over a day’s time by Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, people in Portland, Maine, saw more than 6 inches of snow by early Tuesday.
The storm also left quite a few people in the dark, with more than 13,000 power outages reported across New York and over 50,000 people without electricity in Michigan from last weekend into early this week. Powerful winds knocked out power to 100,000 customers in Ohio at one point.
Volunteers help a woman dig out her parked car on Monday, Dec. 30, 2019, after it was blocked by snow from a plow that was clearing snow in downtown Fargo, N.D., after a blizzard that dumped a foot of snow in some areas of the metropolitan area. (AP Photo/Dave Kolpack)
Before it hit the northeastern U.S., the same major storm pounded the midwestern and central portions of the country with similar impacts. On Saturday, drivers in Minneapolis were hit with icy roads that resulted in multiple crashes. Conditions were bad enough to prompt Minnesota State Patrol to advise against traveling in the area that morning.
The next day, the winter storm dumped heavy snow that triggered accidents and highway shutdowns across Nebraska and the Dakotas, with some spots in central Nebraska receiving more than 8 inches of snow early Sunday.
Sgt. Jesse Grabow tweeted this image from Interstate 94 in Clay County, Minnesota on Sunday, Dec. 29, showing just how severe the travel conditions were in the midst of the winter storm. (Twitter photo/@@MSPPIO_NW)
That seems like nothing compared to the 16 inches that covered Jamestown, North Dakota, on Sunday. Over in Ellendale, emergency management reported “complete whiteout conditions” along with 14 inches of snow on the ground.
While Colorado is no stranger to frigid conditions, the thin air also became exceptionally cold on Monday as temperatures dipped into the negative digits overnight.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Boulder tweeted that the freezing weather impacted spots across Colorado’s north-central mountains and high valleys. “The lowest temperature recorded was a frigid minus 48 degrees Fahrenheit at Antero Reservoir,” the NWS tweeted. Now, that’s cold.
Extreme conditions didn’t just impact the central and northeastern U.S. this week. In Washington, New Year’s Eve drivers found themselves either having to dig themselves out of an incredible 20- to 30-feet-high mess due to powerful winds -- or abandon their cars completely that evening. At least one of those vehicles was a semi-truck.
"In the 20 years that I have worked here, I have never seen it as bad as this,” said Washington State Patrol Trooper Chris Thorsan.
The culprit? Tumbleweeds. Yes, you read that correctly.
This image from Wednesday morning shows a car just about buried in a thick wall of tumbleweeds. (Twitter photo/@WSDOT_East)
A huge pile of wind-blown tumbleweeds caused a commotion on parts of State Route 240 near West Richland. The unusual phenomenon actually shut down some of the highway. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger said wind gusts reached almost 50 mph in nearby areas.
Cleanup crews saw no break from the strong winds by New Year’s Day, which only made clearing the mess that much more difficult. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
New Year’s Day winds were pretty powerful in other areas, as well. If you’re wondering why your one-day Amazon order was late to arrive, it might have been due to some strong winds causing trouble in the Colorado-Wyoming area.
This video shows just how gusty the winds were at the border of those states on Wednesday. An Amazon Prime delivery truck took a slight detour as the gusts temporarily pushed its path sideways and off the road. The good news for the driver is that the winds did not topple over the vehicle.
The midweek wind that pounded the West at the turn of the decade continued to cause problems—this time, in Seattle.
Fireworks around the Space Needle were scheduled to illuminate the night sky into New Year’s Day, but strong winds got in the way of those plans. Two hours into the new year, organizers had to admit defeat as they tweeted the disappointing announcement that the fireworks show was not happening.
“Due to high winds, we are still unable to proceed with the fireworks display at 2 a.m. on Jan. 1,” a tweet from the Space Needle account read. “Unfortunately, this calls for the cancellation of this year’s display.”
At least seven small tornadoes were confirmed last weekend across Mississippi, the NWS office in Jackson reported. Eight counties, including Hinds, Attala, Choctaw and Oktibbeha, were affected by the twisters that brought winds of 105 mph to those areas, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The NWS hasn’t reported injuries related to those tornadoes. It stated that one of them was an EF1 that formed north of Jackson in Madison County, and crossed the county line into Attala, covering about 7 miles. The severe weather left many without power; around 2,850 Entergy customers lost electricity.
Jakarta was left underwater after heavy rain and thunderstorms lashed the capital city of Indonesia Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. A large portion of the city was inundated with feet of rainfall. At least 42 people were killed, according to Bloomberg, with one person missing.
A man carrying a boy wades through floodwaters at Jatibening on the outskirt of Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
The storm’s immense flooding forced over 400,000 people out of their homes. The bad weather also hindered air travel at Jakarta’s second-largest airport, Halim Perdanakusuma, both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Jakarta’s governor, Anies Baswedan, said around 120,000 people have been deployed to assist with water rescues and evacuations. The deadly New Year’s Eve rain event is reportedly the highest rainfall amount for the city in 24 years. The East Jakarta Airport measured 15 inches of rain on Jan. 1.
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The Australia fires continue to devastate New South Wales and Victoria amid a catastrophic bushfire season. Officials in both states declared a state of emergency on Thursday as high temperatures and strong wind gusts exacerbated the fight against the growing blazes.
By New Year’s Day, the burnt acreage total and death toll reached 12 million acres and 17 fatalities, while a reported 480 million animals have perished in the fires. Those wildlife deaths include the 30 percent of Australia’s koala population that may have been killed as their habitats were destroyed.
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