JANUARY 14, 2010 ISSUE
A Review of Weather in 2009
Drought Broken, Biggest Snowstorm of Decade, Christmas Day Ice Storm
The weather of 2009 will be remembered for three things: (1) breaking a 2.5-year drought, (2) the biggest snowstorm in the decade and (3) the Christmas Day ice storm. We’ll examine the three big weather stories first then provide some basic weather facts for 2009.
The year began in January and February with a continuation of the dry weather that had prevailed for 2.5 years. March was a bit drier than normal but included one major snowstorm on March 1. April had near normal rainfall, but May had nearly double normal rainfall (9.33 inches compared to the normal rainfall amount of 4.58 inches). Every month from May to December had significantly greater than normal precipitation with the exception of July, which was about average. Total precipitation for 2009 in Boone was 69.35 inches compared to the average annual precipitation of 54.8 inches. That’s 27 percent greater than average. A developing El Niño—warmer sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific—can be credited for this dramatic change. As an interesting aside, if you asked most people, they would guess that we had double normal rainfall—several dry years in a row changed our perception of “normal precipitation.” While most of us were tired of clouds and rain, the precipitation was welcome relief, especially for agricultural interests.
Two major snowstorms gripped the area in 2009. A March 1 snowstorm dumped about one foot of snow. Then December 18 through 20 brought one to two feet of snow to the High Country. The December snowstorm was the biggest of the decade and one of the four largest in the past 20 years. Comparable storms include January 26 and 27, 1998 (19-inch snowfall); January 5 to 7, 1996 (13-inch snowfall); and, of course, “the mother of all snowstorms” March 12 to 14, 1993 (30-inch snowfall).
The year ended with impressive damage from the worst ice storm in recent memory. Freezing rain on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning coated the eastern half of the High Country with one-half to one inch of ice. “War zone” was the most frequent commentary on the region, underscoring the extensive tree damage. Power outages were common, with many out of power for several days.
Note: All data is for Boone, except where otherwise noted. Precipitation data is recorded around 7:00 a.m. for the previous 24 hours. The dates shown here are the days that the data was recorded.
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