Winter storm Goliath
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The December 2015 North American storm complex, also known as Winter Storm Goliath, was a major storm complex that produced a tornado outbreak, a winter storm, a blizzard and an ice storm in areas ranging from the
Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...
to New England. Tornadoes impacted areas around Dallas, Texas while several other states, especially Missouri, were affected by heavy rain and snow causing severe floods. As the system moved through the Great Lakes region, heavy rain, ice pellets and heavy snow fell in the entire region. Wintry mix moved through southern Ontario and Quebec had significant snowfall on December 29. Almost 60 people were killed in the storm system and its aftermath, which made it one of the deadliest of such systems of 2015 in the United States.


Meteorological history

The outbreak was caused by a vigorous upper-level
trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...
that moved into the Central and Southern Plains states on December 25. An
extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of ...
developed ahead of this upper-level trough over the
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, which moved southeast into the Southwestern United States early on December 26. Continuing to move east, snow began to fall in the Upper Midwest, dropping up to , before rapidly dissipating. As the initial low-pressure area moved over the United States–Mexico border, a southwards dip in the
jet stream Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow, meandering thermal wind, air currents in the Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. On Earth, the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are west ...
to the west had formed. In response to this, an upper-level low developed by evening on December 26. This upper-level low began to track to the north, drawing moisture from the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. As it did so, a long cluster of heavy showers and thunderstorms fired up from eastern
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
to southwestern Missouri, which set up a severe flooding event. Some areas picked up to over of rainfall, triggering several floods. At the same time, discrete tornadic supercells began to appear in areas of Texas. One of the cells produced a violent EF4
wedge tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
, which ripped through parts of Garland and
Rowlett, Texas Rowlett (, traditionally ) is a city in Dallas and Rockwall counties in the U.S. state of Texas, and an eastern suburb of Dallas. The total population estimate is 73,270 in 2021. It is a growing, upscale community with nearly $1.5 billion in dev ...
, causing major damage and killing 10 people. As the storm complex began to move to the north, more supercells began to appear with several more tornadoes being reported. By the early morning of December 27, the supercells merged into a squall line, with tornado reports beginning to diminish, but occasionally a few isolated tornadoes would be produced by the storm. While producing severe weather in the Deep South, the storm complex produced heavy snow and blizzard conditions in the southwestern parts of Texas through December 26–27, as frigid temperatures had spilled south into the area just the previous day before. Strong winds contributed to power outages and blowing and drifting snow. The snowfall continued throughout the majority of December 27, before tapering off near midnight as the storm system began to pull out of the region. In total, the storm complex dumped up to of snow in the western parts of Texas, a very rare and historic occurrence in the affected areas. The storm had also produced a small but significant ice storm in the central parts of Texas, with ice accumulations ranging up to in some areas, leading to thousands of power outages. By December 28, the storm complex had moved into the Central United States, producing more snow, ice, heavy rain, and severe weather in an area stretching from the
Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
into Louisiana. The upper-level low eventually began to take over as the dominant low, and had begun to make a more east-northeastwards turn. Spreading a swath of from Missouri to Maine, the storm complex continued to accelerate into southern Canada while producing more ice, rain and severe weather as the southern quadrant approached the
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. Rain eventually reached areas like Philadelphia and New York City late on December 28, and persisted somewhat into the early morning hours of December 29. At this point, the storm system had already entered Canada, and its circulation was beginning to become elongated. The remnants of the storm eventually dissipated, early on December 30.


Confirmed tornadoes


December 26 event


December 27 event


December 28 event


Preparations and impact


Tornado outbreak


Texas

On December 26, 2015, the tornado outbreak portion of the storm system, with 32 tornadoes total confirmed, began when 12 tornadoes impacted Texas that evening, mostly in and around the
Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...
, killing 13 people, which made it the deadliest tornado disaster in the area since the Dallas tornado of 1957, and added to the highest tornado death count in the U.S. for the month of December since 1953. An EF3 tornado moved through multiple subdivisions in Ovilla and Glenn Heights, Texas on the south side of the metroplex, destroying numerous homes and two churches. Ten people in Garland, Texas died as a result of a large and powerful EF4 wedge tornado that also destroyed many homes in the neighboring suburb of
Rowlett Rowlett (, traditionally ) is a city in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas and Rockwall County, Texas, Rockwall counties in the U.S. state of Texas, and an eastern suburb of Dallas. The total population estimate is 73,270 in 2021. It is a growing, upsc ...
. An EF2 tornado killed two people in Copeville, while an EF1 caused another fatality near Blue Ridge. Additional tornadoes touched down across the Southern United States on December 27 and 28. Most of these tornadoes were weak, though EF2 tornadoes caused considerable damage near Marianna, Arkansas and Marshall, Texas. More than 65,000 people lost power in the area due to the tornadoes. The
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
had to delay their
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game against the Chicago Bulls by one hour due to the threat of severe weather. Damage from tornadoes in Texas alone is estimated at $1.2 billion. There were also 635 injuries.


Flooding


Southern United States

The storm system was responsible for heavy rain that caused severe flooding in 13 states, with Missouri being especially impacted. Parts of the state were hit with over of heavy rainfall. At least 14 people died due to the floods in Missouri alone. In
Union, Missouri Union is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Missouri, United States. It is located on the Bourbeuse River, southwest of St. Louis. The population was 10,204 at the 2010 census, with the city showing the highest growth rate (32% ...
, the Bourbeuse River rose to , above the preceding record of which occurred on December 5, 1982. More than 180 roads, including portions of Interstates 44, 55, and 70, and several bridges were closed. The
Meramec River The Meramec River (), sometimes spelled Maramec River, is one of the longest free-flowing waterways in the U.S. state of Missouri, draining Blanc, Caldwell, and Hawk. "Location" while wandering Blanc, Caldwell, and Hawk. "Executive Summary" fr ...
, near St. Louis, crested above its previous record height, inundating nearby communities. At least 380 homes and 70 businesses were flooded in Franklin County. Approximately 140,000 sandbags were brought in to protect portions of the Bayshore subdivision in
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. At least 150 homes succumbed to flooding in the city. More than 100 boat rescues were conducted in Eureka. Major flooding also occurred in south Alabama, where the Pea River in Elba, Alabama flooded. Most of the rainfall occurred on Christmas Eve day when training thunderstorms went over the same areas. All in all, a widespread occurred. Nine levees were topped—five along the Mississippi River, three along the Missouri River, and one along the Kaskaskia River—though the affected areas were predominantly unpopulated. Large stretches of the Mississippi River were placed on alert due to projected major flooding. Flash flooding also claimed seven lives in Illinois, two in Oklahoma, one in Arkansas, and one in Georgia.


Winter storm


High Plains

The combination of heavy snow, strong winds, and bitterly cold temperatures resulted in blizzard conditions across most of New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, western Oklahoma and West Texas. Some places in this area had over of snow but also snow drifts up to 12 feet (370 cm) high. In the path of this Texas low, a swath of snow and ice impacted the central Plains and Midwest from Oklahoma to Wisconsin as the storm system moved northeastward toward the eastern Great Lakes. The storm system spread a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain to New York State and New England, disrupting travel in the region. At least 1 person in New Mexico, and 4 people in Oklahoma died as a direct result of the winter storm system.
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in western Texas was shut down due to the storm, while
Midland, Texas Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States. A small part of Midland is in Martin County. At the 2020 census, Midland's population was 132,524. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas metropolitan ...
experienced their 3rd snowiest day on record.


Elsewhere and Canada

More than 750 flights were cancelled at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, and hundreds more at Detroit, Toronto and Montreal. Due to a strong Arctic air mass north of the system, parts of northern Michigan, Ontario and all Quebec suffered blizzard conditions, with moderate snow bands and moderate winds as well. 20–30 cm of snow (8–12 in) fell in
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
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, less than 10 cm (4 in) in Toronto, and the greater Montreal region had 30–40 cm of snow (12–16 in). Four people died in Minnesota in a car accident linked to snow-covered roads. Two people died from overexertion while clearing snow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Other similar indirect deaths from the winter storm were reported in New Mexico (1 death), Missouri (2), Michigan (1), New York (1), Vermont (3), New Hampshire (1), and Maine (1). The dairy industry in eastern New Mexico and western Texas lost 30,000 cows to the storm.


See also

*
Late December 2012 North American storm complex Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...
* December 2013 North American storm complex * November 2015 United States ice storm *
Mid-January 2017 North American ice storm The January 2017 North American ice storm was a major ice storm that impacted the Great Plains, Pacific Northwest, and American Midwest. During the storm, multiple U.S. states declared states of emergency, and icy road conditions caused traffic i ...
* Tornado outbreak and floods of April 28 – May 1, 2017


Notes


References


External links


North and Central Texas December 26, 2015 Tornado Outbreak
(NWS Fort Worth) {{DEFAULTSORT:2015-12-28 F4 tornadoes by date Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 United States,12 Storm complex,12 2015,12 Storm complex,2015,12 Storm complex,2015,12 Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 Mississippi River floods Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 Storm complex,2015,12 Storm complex,2015,12
Storm complex In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an an ...