In November 2013, a severe weather outbreak and winter storm, with the latter unofficially named Winter Storm Boreas by The Weather Channel,[1] impacted much of the Western, Southern, and Northeastern United States, as well as southeastern Canada. First impacting the Western United States on November 22 and causing eight deaths, the winter storm then traversed across the South, canceling more than 500 flights at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and causing a 40-car pileup on Interstate 40 near Vega, Texas, killing 3 people and injuring 11 others.[2] The storm system then moved across the East Coast of the United States, causing a severe weather outbreak which produced seven tornadoes, including an EF2 tornado which injured two people in North Carolina. Strong winds and heavy snow and rainfall occurred across much of the Northeastern United States, with numerous flood warnings being issued and prompting a snow emergency to be issued in western Maryland.[3] Next impacting Canada, the storm system produced heavy snowfall which caused more than 130 vehicle accidents.[4] Overall, the storm system caused 14 deaths,[5][6][7] at least 104 injuries,[a] and hundreds of flight cancellations.[9][10]
A satellite image showing the area of low pressure in the Southwestern United States on November 23
On November 22 and 23, a 1012-millibar (29.88 inches) surface low was located 75 miles (121 km) southwest of San Diego, California.[11] Mixed precipitation developed ahead of an occluded front that was attached to the low, causing impacts across the Western United States.[11] The surface low then moved inland a few hours later,[12] producing freezing rain, sleet, and heavy snowfall and rainfall as the low moved southwest of Phoenix, Arizona.[13] The next day, on November 24, the surface low dissipated along the surface front, though an upper-level vortex produced mixed precipitation ahead of the vortex across areas from Arizona to Texas.[14] The upper-level low-pressure area then moved slowly eastward across the Southwestern United States,[15] producing heavy snowfall and freezing rain across the southern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains,[16] and on November 25, the low-pressure area moved out of the Rocky Mountains and into the Texas panhandle, producing heavy rainfall and freezing rain across east Texas and the lower Mississippi River valley.[17][18] A low-pressure area then formed several hours later formed in the Gulf of Mexico 190 miles (310 km) of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and as mixed precipitation fell north of the low-pressure area, snow fell as far north as the lower Great Lakes region.[19]
The low-pressure moved eastward offshore of the Louisiana coast southwest of New Orleans in the early morning hours of November 26,[20] and the pressure dropped to 1004 millibars several hours later while still moving eastward, located just south of Gulf Shores, Alabama at 9:00 AM CST (14:00 UTC).[21] The low-pressure area strengthened and dropped its pressure by one millibar, as it moved eastward to south of Tallahassee, Florida, with a warm front attached to the low moving inland in the Southeastern United States and a cold front moving towards the Florida coastline.[22] Heavy rainfall occurred across the Southeast, along with the low-pressure area that was located northwest of Columbia, South Carolina.[23]
On November 27, the area of low pressure strengthened and dropped its pressure to 998 millibars, and moved north along the East Coast of the United States to east of Washington, D.C., as a second area of low pressure with the same strength developed in central South Carolina.[24] Heavy rainfall continued across the Southeast, and snow fell from the Ohio Valley to the interior Northeastern United States.[24] Rain spread into the Mid-Atlantic region several hours later, and the organized area of heavy rains moved off the Southeast, mixing with sleet and snow as heavy snowfall occurred across much of the Northeast.[25] The snow then tapered off in the late hours of November 27 as the low-pressure area moved into southeastern Canada and strengthened, dropping its pressure to 984 millibars.[26] As a result, heavy snow fell in southeastern Canada on November 27 and 28, and also causing snow squalls.[27]
A satellite image showing snow in the aftermath of the winter storm across the western United States on November 26
The winter storm first impacted the Western United States on November 22, bringing strong winds and heavy snow and rainfall. Strong wind gusts led to more than 50,000 power outages in California.[28] One downed power line started a wildfire, which grew more than 100 acres (0.16 sq mi), leading to evacuations.[28] A 76 miles per hour (122 km/h) wind gust was recorded on Laguna Peak, California.[11]
In Oklahoma, more than 10 inches (25 cm) of snow fell across portions of the state as winter storm warnings and advisories were in effect.[49][50] At Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, 10 percent of flights on November 24 were canceled.[9] In Ashland, Oklahoma, 0.5 inches (13 mm) of sleet fell,[17] and four people were killed, all due to car accidents.[51][7]
Airport disruptions occurred during the winter storm, with 628 flights being canceled and nearly 6,000 flights being delayed up to two hours across several airports across the eastern United States, including airports in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and LaGuardia Airport in New York City.[3][65] Ground stops were issued for several major airports across the Northeast.[64] More than 11,000 power outages occurred across the Northeast, including nearly 6,000 in Pennsylvania,[66] more than 2,000 separately in Connecticut and New Jersey,[67][68] and 1,250 in Maine.[69] Among the power outages in Connecticut was a power transformer which blew and started a small fire.[61]
On November 26, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued a level 2/slight risk of severe weather across the region, from Florida to North Carolina.[70] Several tornadoes touched down across the region, with portions of Morehead City and Atlantic Beach, North Carolina sustaining damage from an EF2 tornado amounting to $6.5 million.[71][72] The tornado injured two people, displaced 15 people,[3] and 6,000 power outages occurred in Carteret County, North Carolina.[71] A waterspout made landfall on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, breaking two power poles, causing power outages.[3] Two tornadoes touched down in Florida, one EF1 tornado and one EF0 tornado, and altogether caused $200,000 in damage.[73] Sporadic wind damage occurred across the Southeast, with numerous uprooted trees and downed power lines and straight-line wind damage amounting to $52,000 in Florida,[73][74] and $10,000 in North Carolina.[72] Heavy rainfall also materialized across the Southeast, with the heaviest rain falling at Shelby–Cleveland County Regional Airport, receiving 4.89 inches (124 mm).[26]
Atlanta had less than an inch of snow, receiving 0.4 inches (1.0 cm), but it was the third November snow since 1930.[75]Wind advisories and winter weather alerts were issued for portions of Georgia, and 4,500 power outages occurred across the state,[76][77] and heavy rainfall caused flooding across roads near Ellijay, Georgia.[37] Ice accumulated across portions of western North Carolina, which downed trees across Henderson, Iredell, and Polk counties.[37]
Across the Midwestern United States, cold air from the winter storm resulted in heavy lake-effect snow showers across areas near Lake Michigan. The highest snow accumulation from the snow showers was in Coloma, Michigan, receiving 16 inches (41 cm) of snow.[78]
In preparation of the winter storm, schools across Montreal were closed.[79] The winter storm impacted eastern portions of the country, primarily Quebec and Ontario,[80][81] with Ottawa receiving nearly 25 centimetres (9.8 in) of snow and Toronto recording more than 20 centimetres (7.9 in) of snow.[82][83] More than 130 vehicle accidents occurred on snow-covered roads, several of which resulted in four injuries.[4][81][82] Several vehicles slid off Ontario Highway 402, and heavy, sufficient snowfall led to Boler Mountain being opened early.[27]Snow squall warnings were also issued for portions of southeast Canada.[27] An early estimate of the cost of cleaning up was given as $550,000 after the winter storm in London, Ontario, and 125 vehicle snowplows were deployed.[4] More than 10,000 power outages occurred across Quebec, and several flights were cancelled at Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport.[80][82]
^This includes the 72 injury crashes across the Lubbock, Texas area.[8] It is unknown exactly how many injuries occurred, though at least 72 were injured.