WINTER WEATHER STRIKES AGAIN;
U.S. FEELS PINCH OF 2003 WINTER WEATHER

February 16, 2003 — Cold temperatures and a mixed bag of wintry precipitation blanketed the eastern U.S. as a large-scale weather system coming out of the southern Plains wreaked havoc on the 2003 Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day holiday weekend. The NOAA National Weather Service cautions people to be prepared as winter weather strikes again. (Click NOAA image for larger view of snowfall on the deck of an Arlington, Va., home where more than a foot of snow fell by Sunday afternoon, Feb. 16, 2003. Click here for high resolution version of this photo, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”)

Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico colliding with a mass of arctic air dropping down from Canada produced a mix of snow, freezing rain and rain from Nebraska east to the Ohio Valley. A wintry mix of precipitation spread east to the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic region and will head towards New York and New England over the weekend and into early next week. “This is a noteworthy system because the storm will involve a lot of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean and is slow moving, prolonging the time one experiences the event,” said Peter Manousos, science and operations officer and a forecaster for the Winter Weather Desk at the NOAA National Weather Service. “Impacted areas in the East could see winter precipitation persist over a 2 to 3 day duration.”

The weather system tracked through the central plains and the southeastern states through the weekend and reformed off the Carolinas on Sunday. A mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain spread across the Ohio valley and mid-Atlantic states through Saturday. A significant period of sleet and freezing rain developed in southern Virginia and the western Carolinas Saturday, and farther south the following day. Significant accumulations of snow were reported in the mid-Atlantic states as the cold air moved in from the north early Saturday and Sunday.

Farther south, heavy rainfall was reported Friday night and Saturday over the lower Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley. Flood watches were posted Friday afternoon from northern Arkansas and northern Alabama northeastward through Tennessee and eastern Kentucy.

The NOAA National Weather Service advises the public to keep ahead of the storm by listening to NOAA Weather Radio and commercial radio and television broadcasts for the latest information on this system and the issuance of winter storm watches, warnings and advisories in order to take proper precautions.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation’s coastal and marine resources. NOAA is part of the U. S. Department of Commerce.

Relevant Web Sites
Animation of the Predicted Path of the Storm

NOAA Storm Watch

NOAA Winter Storm Preparedness Guide

Media Contact:
Carmeyia Gillis, NOAA Climate Prediction Center, (301) 763-8000 ext. 7163 or John Leslie, NOAA National Weather Service, (301) 713-0622

 



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