Transcript Case_study_ben_persitz

Severe Weather
A Look At The Great Northwest Ice
Storm
By Benjamin Persitz
What Was It?
A strong, snow, wind, and ice storm, that blanketed
the area for several days, slowing our daily life to
a snails place.
The Where
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The Pacific Northwest/West Coast, stretching from
Seattle-Northern California
We are mostly focused on the Portland/Vancouver
metro area.
The When
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The main ice storm was January 5-9, 2004
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Main event started on January 1, 2004
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Was only expected to last for 1 day
So what exactly happened?
January 1, 2004
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A cyclone moves
across Southern
Oregon, and
Northrn California.
Has peak wind
speeds of over 70
MPH in some areas
Spreads cold winter
weather across the
area
Setting The Stage
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Cold air was pushed through the Gorge and into the
Willamette Valley, causing a short spell of heavy
snowfall over the region that would set the stage for
the ice storm.
Temperatures were below normal as cold air pooled in
the area. These temperatures would remain low for
the next several days.
Areas of Southern and Eastern Oregon experienced
blizzard like conditions and heavy snowfall.
January 3 and 4
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A strong Arctic Cold
Front begins to move
southward towards
the area. The already
low temperatures
drop drastically and
set record lows on
January 5th and 6th.
Highs for those days
were in the mid to low
20's
January 5
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The cold, dry, air mass from the North kept
temperatures cold, and on January 5, a large
system of moisture arrived from the Pacific.
Forecasters expected the cold temperatures
and snow to stick around for a day, then leave.
They were wrong.
January 6-9
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Warm air aloft from the Pacific begins to
override the cold, dry, air. As moisture falls,
freezing rain forms, and the low temperatures
at the surface blanket the region with a sheet
of ice. Forecast models expected a quick
warming, but it took several days (until
January 9) for this to occur on a large scale.
The Results
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Portland International Airport was closed for 2
days. This was the first time in the airport's
history that it was closed for that long.
Kids were kept out of school for days
Unprepared road crews could not keep roads
safe for vehicles. Many people were forced to
stay in their homes and life slowed to a crawl in
the area.
Large parts of the two states were without power
for days.
Sources
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http://ams.confex.com/ams/33Broadcast/techpro
gram/paper_77515.htm
http://www.climate.washington.edu/stormking/Jan
uary012004.html
http://www.oregonphotos.com/Ice%20Storm%20
2004.html
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